CHAPTER 9 (May 17-25, 2018)

Beca hung up the phone and walked from her back porch into her living room. She was stressed out and a little angry. Her eyes met Jesse's as he paused The Godfather, which he was watching for the billionth-and-first time. Staying seated on the couch in the living room, his eyes implored Beca to elaborate on her anger.

"It's just general stress. Amy is being really inflexible with everything for the bachelorette party, which is making mine and Chloe's lives difficult."

Of course Amy hadn't let Beca or Chloe step within a mile of the plans for the bachelorette party. Amy insisted that the only person who could throw her a proper bachelorette party was herself. Beca and Chloe tended to agree, although it certainly didn't make either of their lives easier. Chloe and Beca were in charge of booking the hotel and restaurants, and sending the other Bellas the weekend's itinerary. This was pretty difficult to accomplish when a certain Tasmanian was changing the plan every five minutes.

"Ah, man, that sucks," Jesse responded. He wasn't really interested in Beca's party planning, but feigned the right level of sympathy, which invited Beca to continue talking.

"Yeah, I mean it's not the biggest deal ever, but she keeps planning these 'surprises' for the weekend and won't tell us anything about them. So keeping an itinerary of things is next to impossible. But whatever, I'm not going to complain about it," Beca finished with a wave of her hand.

"Well if that's all that's bothering you these days, I'd say you've got a good life," Jesse reasoned.

"Hah. That's hardly the worst of my problems," Beca said flatly.

"What else is happening?"

"Okay, so get this. My manager called me today, and she doesn't think I'm dating enough. Can you believe that?"

Jesse said nothing. On the one hand, he agreed that it wasn't any of the manager's business whether or not Beca was dating anyone. On the other hand, Jesse couldn't recall the last time Beca had dated anyone. He decided to play devil's advocate. "When was the last time you dated someone?" He asked innocently.

"What? That's… that's… not anyone's business. What does my personal life have to do with my career?"

"I hate to break it to you, Be-caw, but you chose a career that is smack-dab in the middle of the public eye. I wish I could tell you that it doesn't matter, but it does. How do you think the Kardashians became so famous? They let the public into their private lives. These days, it almost always takes comprising some privacy to succeed in the entertainment world."

Beca's eyes shot daggers at Jesse. "Jesus, you sound just like my manager," Beca spat. "Who, by the way, I want to fire right now."

"Hey," Jesse responded, holding up his hands in self-defense, "I'm just saying this because I'm your friend and want you find the level of successful you deserve. And you deserve success because you've got a lot of talent. It sucks, but I think you've got to drink the Kool-Aid here, so to speak."

Beca sighed. She hated admitting that Jesse was right. Huffing, she asked, "So what does dating even mean? Like going on a date? Banging? Getting married? Since you apparently know so much today, enlighten me, Jess," Beca said, folding her hands together and cocking her head to the side.

A sly smile spread across Jesse's face. This was as close as Beca would ever get to saying 'you were right, I was wrong.' "Well," he began, "I think it means going on several dates. Getting dinner together somewhere. Going out for coffee. Holding hands when you're walking down the street. No serious commitment, just spending some time together."

"Well that's great," Beca said. "I hardly have time to see the people I don't hate seeing. Now I have to go on dates with this assorted collection of guys and girls my manager has got lined up?"

"Guys and girls?" Jesse asked, now more interested than ever in the conversation.

"Yes, Jesse. Guys and girls. Over the next month, my manager is going to set me up with several girls and several guys and I'm going to have to go out on dates with them. And the paparazzi will conveniently be present to document all of it. She says it'll give me an edge as 'the girl everyone wants but no one can have.' It's supposed to promote my image or something. Tell me that's not utter bullshit."

Jesse shrugged. "Kinda," he agreed. "But it's not all bad. I'm sure you'll at least get to pick the lucky guys and gals?"

"Ugh, no, why would I want to do that? I just told my manager to pick a few girls and guys that seem… not terrible. I mean, I'm not going to honestly date these people. It's just a few dates to make the paparazzi happy, and then I'm never gonna see them again… with any luck," Beca added as an afterthought.

"Wait, so you don't care who these people are?"

"No," Beca shot back without pausing to think.

"Huh," Jesse mused to himself. "So. Reggie Mitch is bi-sexual."

"Stellar observation."

"Yeah, so Reggie Mitch is into the ladies and dudes, but what about Beca Mitchell?" Jesse asked Beca the question that was really on his mind.

"I don't think Beca Mitchell could begin to know where to start figuring out how to answer that question," she responded honestly, as she stood up from the couch and left the room.

That was about the most confusing sentence ever uttered, Jesse thought. Still, he was shocked and pleasantly surprised that Beca had given him an honest response instead of a cutting remark. Sure, her answer was entirely laced with ambiguity and confusion, but it was honest.

The next week passed and Reggie Mitch went out on a date with a perfectly nice guy called Jay Dean. As planned, the paparazzi was present and evidence of the date quickly took to social media. The photos were accompanied by headlines like, "Reggie Mitch's New Man," "Love Is In The Air For Reggie Mitch," and "Sorry World, Reggie Mitch Is Off The Market." Beca rolled her eyes at the bogus headlines.

The Bellas' group text also blew up, as most of the Bellas poked fun at the public airing of Beca's love life. Beca confided to them that the date was mostly for publicity, and it didn't mean much. One Bella, in particular, felt surprising relief in that confession.

Several days later, Reggie Mitch was caught on a date at Starbucks with the new indie artist, Kailey Watson. Again, social media exploded with pictures and headlines saying things like, "Reggie Mitch Plays The Field," "Breaking Hearts and Taking Names," and "Girls, Don't Worry- You've Still Got A Shot, Too." Beca hated every minute of this. She wasn't interested in dating these people and she was less interested in lying about her life to gain public attention.

Throughout this spectacle, the one thing that kept Beca sane was Chloe. Beca remembered Chloe's words of comfort more often than Chloe probably realized. It was nice to know that someone would be in her corner if she decided to stop living a Kardashian lifestyle. Beca picked up the phone and called Chloe.

"Hey!" A cheerful voice answered from the other end of the phone.

"Hey, yourself," Beca answered. "How are things over there?"

"Oh, you know… the usual. Busy but good. I'm so excited for the bachelorette party tomorrow!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Yeah, me too." Beca took a deep breath. "Chloe?"

"What's going on?" Chloe asked. She could read straight through Beca's tone of voice. Although Beca hadn't said anything, Chloe knew something was bothering Beca.

"You know those fake dates I'm going on?"

Chloe took a deep breath. Did she ever. Chloe hated to admit it, but she got more than a little relief from knowing those dates were staged. She had spent too much time over the past week trying to convince herself that she didn't care who Beca was dating. Even knowing the dates were fake, Chloe was, nonetheless, caught in a cycle of lying to herself over how much these fake dates bothered her. "Sure, Becs," Chloe answered as breezily as possible.

"Well, I hate them."

"I'm really sorry," Chloe answered sincerely. "I know how much you hate being made into a spectacle."

"That's it exactly," Beca agreed. "Everyone thinks it makes sense that I'm going on fake dates for publicity. Jesse, my manager, even the people I'm fake dating… they're behind it, too. No one else gets how much it eats at me. Except you, I guess."

Chloe smiled over the thought that she was the only person who got Beca. She suddenly wished with her entire heart that she could be there with Beca. Just to see her. To be with her. "Wait," Chloe thought to herself, "No." She needed to stop having these thoughts about her friend Beca.

To Beca, Chloe said, "I understand how it feels to do something disingenuous to yourself, trust me. It's not a good feeling, is it?"

"Chlo, you've said something like that to me before. What is it about you that I don't know?"

"I… I can't right now, Becs. Look, you'll hear about it, I promise, okay? It's just, it's a long story." Chloe knew at some point or another that she'd have to tell Beca exactly what she was holding back. But this wasn't the moment. And further, Chloe wasn't ready to have this conversation just yet. It was going to take a lot of mental preparation before Chloe would be ready to have this talk with Beca.

Meanwhile, Beca was perplexed. Chloe never withheld. Although Chloe was more or less the same ray of sunshine she had always been in college, Beca couldn't help but notice a little bit of hesitation. Something over the past two years had changed Chloe. Beca knew it. She could feel it in her gut. The only problem was Beca didn't know precisely what had happened.

The change was subtle. So subtle, in fact, that it almost flew under Beca's radar completely. It wasn't until this very moment until Beca had seen the sign and realized the subtle shift in Chloe's behavior. Back in college, Chloe had been exuberant, happy-go-lucky, and overly touchy-feely. Chloe was still each of those things, but only... less so. She was still exuberant, but slightly more subdued. Her squeals of excitement were slightly softer and less frequent. Chloe was not quite as happy-go-lucky. Beca couldn't place a finger on a specific example, but she could just tell that Chloe viewed life through a more cautious lens these days. It was almost as if she was a little bit afraid to let herself go.

Most noticeably, Chloe was far less touchy-feely than she had been in college. Hell, back in college, Chloe had shared a bed with Beca several nights a week. When they sat down next to one another, Chloe's hand always held Beca's, or their arms and/or legs were intertwined. Chloe played with Beca's hair, kissed her cheek, and playfully slapped her ass. Since their reconciliation, most of this behavior had fallen by the wayside. Sure, Chloe and Beca were still close, but not like that. Again, Chloe was holding back a bit. Beca frowned to herself. She wasn't sure why this bothered her to the extent it did. Beca hated touchy-feelyness... so she thought.

"Okay," Beca answered uneasily. "We don't have to talk about it. But just, I have to know, are you okay?"

"I'm more than okay," Chloe answered with a smile.

"Promise?" Beca asked Chloe. As curious as Beca was to know what Chloe was hiding, she respected that all stories unravel at their own pace. Chloe would do this in her own time.

"I promise, Becs."

Aside from Chloe, the only other thing keeping Beca going throughout the spectacle of the fake dates was Amy's upcoming bachelorette party in Las Vegas. Beca was looking forward to a weekend with her friends and out of the public eye. As it turned out, Bumper had also planned his bachelor party in Las Vegas, on the same weekend, and at the same hotel as Amy's party.

Beca and Jesse caught a flight to Las Vegas very early the next morning. As they sat at their gate in the airport terminal at four AM that morning, Beca asked, "Hey, Jesse, do you have any Advil? I swear these early mornings give me raging headaches." Beca complained as she rubbed her temples.

"Maybe it's the fact that you normally hold the sleep patterns of a sloth. Or maybe it's that when you are awake, your bloodstream is more coffee than blood."

Beca punched Jesse in the arm. "Ow!" He recoiled. "Now that's no way to treat your drug dealer, is it?" He asked loudly.

Beca's eyes shot daggers at Jesse, as she looked around and noticed that more than a handful of people had just heard Jesse call himself Beca's drug dealer.

"Just… do you have Advil or no?" Beca asked irritably.

"Yeah, hold on," Jesse said, searching through his backpack. Jesse found three white pills and put them in Beca's palm. Beca automatically took the pills dry and slouched down in her chair. Jesse sat next to Beca in the terminal, watching The Godfather 2 on his Ipad.

After about twenty minutes of silence passed between them, Beca asked him, "So, do you think it's kind of odd that Amy and Bumper are throwing their bachelor weekends in the same place and at the same time?"

Jesse paused his movie and thought for a second. "No, I guess not. I think it's kind of sweet."

"Oh, that's right. I forgot you were a lovesick sap now."

Jesse pushed Beca.

"By the way, how are things going with the aca-Nazi?"

Jesse pushed Beca again, this time, harder. Beca shot him a glaring look, as she rubbed her shoulder.

"To answer your question," Jesse answered, "Aubrey is doing great, she-"

"Woah, Jess, I don't care how she's doing, I just wanted to say aca-Nazi."

Jesse pushed Beca a third time, slightly harder. "Ow!" Beca exclaimed.

One uneventful flight later, Beca and Jesse landed in Las Vegas. It was early afternoon before the pair made it over to the hotel. Once there, Jesse peeled off to meet Bumper and the guys for a round of golf. Beca checked her phone. The Bellas group text message indicated that half of them were at the pool and the other half were shopping and exploring the strip. Beca changed into her bathing suit and joined the group of Bellas at the pool.

"There she is!" Stacie shouted as Beca walked outside into the pool area. Stacie ran over to hug Beca. Meanwhile, every male in the pool's vicinity practically drowned in a pool of their own drool as they watched Stacie running over to Beca.

"It seems like you've been busy lately," Stacie continued as she hugged Beca hello.

Beca hugged Stacie back. "Yeah, who knew how exhausting fake relationships could be? At least I've got one weekend away from the press… So that's a blessing, I guess."

"Agreed." Stacie linked her arm in Beca's as the two made their way over to the part of the pool deck where the other Bellas sat. Aside from Stacie and Beca, the other Bellas present were CR, Ashley, Jessica, and Emily. The other five Bellas were out shopping, it seemed. Beca was a tiny bit disappointed that Chloe was nowhere to be seen.

Beca greeted everyone and spread out on a chair next to Emily. The girls spent the next few hours catching up poolside. It was good to see the Bellas again. Beca really missed seeing them the same way she did in college. After some time had passed, Beca began to notice the late afternoon sun in the sky. Surely the other Bellas would be retuning back soon. "So when are the other girls coming back to the hotel?" Beca asked. It was not lost on anyone that Beca was indirectly asking when Chloe was coming back to the hotel.

"Should be anytime now," Stacie answered casually as she broke her attention away from filing her nails.

"I figured about as much," Beca said. "Amy has a surprise planned for us at seven… Which is," Beca said, looking down at her phone, "An hour and a half from now."

Emily's eyes widened. "Surprise? What is it?"

"Sorry, Little Bit, Amy won't tell me either," Beca answered, shrugging her shoulders.

"This bodes well," Ashley observed with a concerned tone of voice. Amy's surprises were notoriously bad. Once in college, Amy had planned a surprise birthday party for Ashley. As it happened, it was actually Jessica's birthday, not Ashley's. This oversight was largely forgiven. What took longer to forgive, however, were the clown strippers that came over to the Bella house. Ashley legitimately had coulrophobia and the whole ordeal had caused her to suffer a horrible panic. Upon seeing the strippers dressed as clowns, Ashley had tried to run out of the house in fear. While running, she tripped on a step and fell, busting open her chin. Seven stitches later, she was having about the worst non-birthday a person could have.

With the evening's festivities before them, the group of Bellas at the pool disbanded and decided to go back to their respective rooms and get ready. Beca was sharing a hotel room with Emily and Stacie that weekend. Meanwhile, Chloe and Aubrey had decided to bunk up together this Bachelorette weekend. Beca quickly got ready and left her own hotel room in search of Chloe's. Beca knocked on Chloe and Aubrey's door. Seconds later, it opened.

Chloe was wearing a very, very short pair of boxer shorts, coupled with a very low-cut tank top. Her hair was up in a messy bun, as she stood grinning at the door, toothbrush in hand. Although Chloe was nowhere near being ready for a night on the town, to Beca, she looked smoking hot. Beca forced herself not to cop a look at Chloe's cleavage.

Chloe pulled Beca into a hug, trying not to linger over how stupidly hot the brunette looked. Of course Beca had no idea over the effect she had on other people. "I'm so happy to see you!" Chloe said sincerely.

"Yeah, me too," Beca said inviting herself into Chloe's hotel room. Beca noticed that Aubrey was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Jesse's girlfriend, by the way?"

"With him. Down in his room," Chloe said suggestively.

"Ew."

"What?" Chloe asked innocently.

"I don't want to picture… whatever is going on with them."

Chloe laughed throatily. "Well you've experienced one half of that equation first-hand, haven't you?" Chloe teased.

Beca plopped down on Chloe's bed as Chloe continued getting ready in the bathroom. "I'm so glad I stopped by," she muttered sarcastically.

"Meanwhile, I've experienced the other half of that equation first-hand," Chloe called from the other room.

"What?" Beca's eyes practically boggled out of her head.

"I'm teasing, Becs," Chloe called back, laughing. "I mean, I'm hot stuff, but definitely not the brand Aubrey is looking for, if you know what I mean."

"Hear you loud and clear."

"She's exclusively into men," Chloe continued.

"Yeah, I got your expression the first time, Chlo," Beca called back.

Chloe walked from the bathroom into the hotel room. Her pants and top were gone and she was now only wearing a matching set of red, lacy lingerie. Casually, she perused through her suitcase for the perfect outfit to wear that evening. Beca, still lying on Chloe's bedroom cast her eyes upward towards the ceiling, not wanting to defile her friend with her stare.

"Hey, Becs?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah?" Beca asked, still looking at the ceiling.

"I need your eyes for a sec."

Beca sighed, looking down. "What?"

"Green dress or black dress?"

Beca used every ounce of focus to look only at the dresses Chloe was holding out, and not the mostly-naked girl standing behind them. "Green," Beca answered simply before reluctantly averting her eyes from Chloe, once again.

As Chloe finished getting ready in the bathroom, the girls continued chatting. Chloe told Beca about how beautiful the hotels on the strip were. Beca had been to Vegas a handful of times for work-related events, but had never had the time to actually walk around or see the hotels. Chloe promised to circle back with Beca the next day. As Chloe put the finishing touches on her makeup, she stepped back into the hotel room to put on her shoes.

Wow, Beca thought, she looked flawless. She always looked flawless. But tonight, especially, she looked particularly stunning. Beca cast her eyes to the floor, swallowing hard. Chloe smirked to herself, noticing the slight blush on the brunette's face. Chloe secretly loved when she captured Beca's attention this way.

The two girls made their way downstairs to the hotel lobby. Once the other Bellas were present, Amy corralled the eleven girls into several Lyfts and away to Freemont Street. Once on Freemont Street, Amy led the way down the block, before turning left down a sketchy alleyway. All of the Bellas were on the verge of stopping Amy and begging to turn around when, suddenly, Amy stopped before a trap door on the ground. Amy bent down and knocked on the red trap door three consecutive times.

"Password?" A slightly familiar, yet strange voice asked from behind the trap door.

"Muffgate 2015!" Amy leaned down into the door and boomed excitedly.

Beca bit her tongue to keep from laughing. She cast a glance sideways towards Aubrey, who was biting her tongue to keep from saying something judgmental.

"You may enter," the voice said, opening the trap door from the floor. As the door opened, a tunnel leading underground became apparent.

"This looks like we're crawling into a sewer. Are we really doing this, Fat Amy?" Aubrey asked.

"Hell, yeah!" Amy responded. "We're finally going to win us a riff-off. As long as Legacy doesn't screw the pooch this time, eh?"

Emily shot a guilty look around to the other Bellas.

"Well, come on down, girls!" The voice of Sir Willups Brightslymoore invited.

"Sweet Jesus," Beca muttered under her breath. This was the same guy from that riff-off the Bellas had participated in during Beca's senior year of college. What was he doing in Las Vegas in an underground sewer? More importantly, how did Amy know where to find him?

"It's not so bad," Flo reassured Beca as they began climbing down the ladder and into the sewer. "Back in my country, all of the richest families lived beneath trapdoors."

"That's reassuring," Beca said sarcastically.

One by one, the eleven Bellas stepped into the trap door and crawled down the ladder which was provided to them. Landing on the floor, Beca figured this secret venue was about fifteen feet underneath street level. Sir Willups led the girls through a slim, dimly lit hallway.

Chloe grabbed Beca's arm. "I hope you're not counting on me for protection here Chlo, because I swear to God, if this gets any sketchier, I'm out of here."

"You and me both," she whispered back to Beca.

After about thirty seconds of walking through the hallway, the girls entered a grand ballroom. It looked like the inside of a VIP club. There were plush purple couches around the perimeter of the room, a fully stocked and open bar in the corner, and a giant disco ball in the middle of the room. It looked like close to a hundred other guests were already present.

"What is this place?" Beca asked, mostly to herself.

"This, my dear, is Las Vegas's best kept secret," Sir Willups suddenly appeared beside Beca, touching her arm lightly.

Beca, who was both startled and uncomfortable by Sir Willups's presence, about jumped out of her skin. "Ah!" She screamed. "How did... how did you suddenly appear right beside me?"

"I have cat-like agility, sweetie pie," he answered. Beca shuddered and took several steps back from Sir Willups.

Sir Willlups, who was unfazed by Beca's recoil, suddenly pulled a microphone out of his sleeve and announced to the room, "My A-capella people! Welcome to Swan Song, the latest and greatest sub-terrestrial nightclub in the Freemont Street region of Las Vegas! Whoever said that you couldn't turn a sinkhole into a nightclub?"

Beca shot a horrified look over to Chloe and harshly mouthed, "Sinkhole?"

Chloe, whose arm was still linked in Beca's, patted her arm reassuringly while simultaneously attempting to swallow her own concern.

"Well I know you're all excited about tonight's riff-off, and my friends, so am I! So without further ado, let's meet our competition!"

Sir Willups first introduced the Treblemakers. Beca was shocked. In the midst of all the excitement, she had totally failed to notice that Jesse, Bumper, Benji and the other Treblemakers were all present. Beca figured this meant that the guys had finally let Bumper back into the group.

Next, was a group called the Vega-pellas. Beca had to assume they were a local group.

"Third," Sir Willups piped up, "Troop Number 4131 coming to us from Des Moines, Iowa, we have ten very eager Girl Scouts looking to clench their 'Golden Microphone' badges." Beca shook her head in disbelief. Girl Scouts? Just when this experience couldn't get any weirder.

"And last, though hopefully not least," Sir Willups finished, "We have a graduated group of Barden Bellas, who will hopefully prove to us tonight that talent doesn't go stale when you get old."

CR took a deep breath, resisting the urge to deck the middle-aged nightclub owner in the face.

"So let's go over the rules," Sir Willlups said. "The rules tonight are simple. We're doing a standard riff-off, which means that you cut off one team by using their last sung word as your first sung word of a new song. If you can't keep up, you get the gong!"

Sir Willups paused a moment, waiting for anyone to laugh over his 'clever' rhyme. Noticing that his joke was received with silence, he continued on, "And the prize here tonight is special. The winner of tonight's riff-off gets... drumroll please... a ten thousand dollar Napster gift card!"

The only one of the Bellas who looked even moderately interested in the prize was Amy. The rest of the Bellas were left scratching their heads and wondering whether or not Napster had disbanded.

"Alright, you wonderful a-capella talent, let's get started! The first category is... Boy Bands! Vega-Pellas, you're up!"

Immediately, the Vega-pellas began an a-capella rendition of "Bye Bye Bye" by N'Sync.

"I'm doing this tonight

You're probably gonna start a fight

I know this can't be right

Hey baby come on

I loved you endlessly

When you weren't there for me

So now it's time to leave and make it alone

I know that I can't take no more

It ain't no lie

I want to see you out that door

Baby-"

The Girl Scouts cut them off and began singing One Direction's "What Makes you Beautiful." Beca had to hand it to them, the Girl Scouts were actually pretty talented, despite their youthfulness.

"Baby you light up my world like nobody else,

The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed,

But when you smile at the ground it ain't hard to tell,

You don't know, oh oh,

You don't know you're beautiful,

If only you saw what I can see,

You'll understand why I want you so desperately,

Right now I'm looking at you and I can't believe,

You don't know, that's what makes you-"

The Treblemakers cut off the Girl Scouts with New Kids on the Block's "You Got It (The Right Stuff)."

"You got the right stuff, baby

I love the way you turn me on

You got the right stuff, baby

You're the reason why I sing this song

All that I needed was you

Oh, girl you're so right

And all that I-"

Beca shot Chloe a look that said, 'trust me on this.' Chloe nodded and got the attention of the other Bellas. Beca walked up in front of Jesse, who was doing the lead vocals on the NKOTB song. With her hands, she cut him off and began singing,

"I should've said no

Someone's waiting for me

But I got my coat, called and said-"

By this point, the other Bellas had figured out that Beca was singing Backstreet Boy's "The Call." Lily had already began beat-boxing, while Jessica and Ashley were providing background sounds. As the chorus hit, the other girls joined in, Chloe taking a supporting lead role and harmonizing to Beca.

"Listen baby, I'm sorry

Just want to tell you don't worry

I will be late

Don't stay up and wait for me

I said again, your dropping out

My battery is low

Just so you know

We're going to a place nearby

Gotta go-"

The Girl Scouts tried to cut off the Bellas with Walk The Moon's 'Shut Up and Dance With Me.' Realizing they hadn't properly timed the jump, the song quickly dissolved. Sir Willups laboriously lifted his large mallet and banged the gong.

"You're out of here, Troop 4131!" He shouted. The Girl Scouts, crestfallen, left the venue. This was probably for the best, Beca figured. Those girls were most definitely underage and did not belong anywhere near a nightclub. Especially a nightclub that used to be a sinkhole.

"Alright, we've got three teams left, and our next category is... Songs by Britney Spears!" Sir Willups exclaimed excitedly. Chloe and Aubrey grinned at one another. They had this round in the bag.

"Bellas, you're up first!" Sir Willups boomed into the microphone.

Aubrey began singing the lead vocals and Stacie took the supporting vocals for Britney's "Baby One More Time." The rest of the Bellas filled in the song seamlessly within seconds.

"My loneliness

Is killing me (and I)

I must confess, I still believe (Still believe)

When I'm not with you I lose my mind

Give me a sign

Hit me baby one more time

Oh baby, baby

The reason I breathe is you-"

The Treblemakers cut off the Bellas as Bumper began belting "Womanizer." Bumper made a big production out of dancing every word to the song.

"You, you, you are

You, you, you are

Womanizer, womanizer, womanizer, womanizer,

Boy don't try to front, I, I

Know just, just, what you are, are, are

Boy don't try to front I, I

Know just, just what you are, are, are

You, you say I'm crazy

You, I got you crazy-"

The Vega-Pellas cut in with "Crazy." Beca rolled her eyes. The Treblemakers had just handed the Vega-Pellas that opportunity on a silver platter.

"Crazy, I just can't sleep

I'm so excited, I'm in too deep

Crazy, but it feels alright

Baby thinkin' of you keeps me up all night

Tell me, you're so into me

That I'm the only one you -"

Amy cut the Vega-Pellas off as she began belting "Stronger." CR quickly stepped in with the supporting lyrics. The two were dancing with one another as they belted out the song obnoxiously in front of Bumper and the Treblemakers.

"You might think that I won't make it

On my own

But now I'm stronger than yesterday

Now it's nothing but my way

My loneliness ain't killing me no more

I, I'm stronger

Then I ever thought that I could be, baby-"

The Treblemakers entered with "Toxic." Benji sang the lead while the rest of the group harmonized around him. Beca wouldn't have been surprised to learn that this was a song in the Treblemaker's normal repertoire. They seemed to have mastered the song.

"Baby, can't you see

I'm calling

A guy like you

Should wear a warning

It's dangerous

I'm fallin'

There's no escape

I can't wait

I-"

The Vega-pellas cut off the Treblemakers with Christina Aguilera's "Genie in a Bottle."

"I feel like I've been locked up tight

For a century of lonely nights

Waiting for someone to release me-"

"Woah, woah, woah, stop that racket," Sir Willups interjected. The Vega-pellas came to a grinding halt. "If you're waiting for someone to release you, I'm going to do that right here and now. You know why? Because you're singing Christina, not Britney. Now don't you, ever, ever, come into my sinkhole… I mean, club, and confuse those two names!" He banged the gong, and just like that, the Vega-Pellas were cut off.

"Alright, final round!" Sir Willups started back up. "Our category is Songs With Sexual Innuendos. Treblemakers, you're up!"

Jesse cocked a sly grin over at Beca, who raised her eyebrows in response. Jesse began singing, Fifth Harmony's "Work from Home." As Jesse was singing with a goofy grin on his face, Beca mouthed, "I hate you."

"I know you're always on the night shift

But I can't stand these nights alone

And I don't need no explanation

'Cause baby, you're the boss at home"

Flo nudged Beca happily, who shot Flo a dead eyed expression. Beca hated every moment of this.

"You don't gotta go to work, work, work, work, work, work, work

But you gotta put in work, work, work, work, work, work, work

You don't gotta go to work, work, work, work, work, work, work

Let my body do the work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work

We can work from home, oh, oh, oh oh

We can work-"

Luckily for the other Bellas, CR cut in with Rihanna's "Work." None of the other Bellas had been prepared in the slightest with another song idea.

"Work, work, work, work, work, work

You see me I be work, work, work, work, work, work

You see me do me dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt, dirt

There's something 'bout that work, work, work, work, work, work

When you a gon' learn, learn, learn, learn, learn, learn

Me na care if me tired, tired, tired, tired, tired, tired

Join me I deserved it

No-"

Donald cut CR off and began singing "Ignition" by R. Kelly. The whole time he was singing, his eyes were locked on Lily.

"No I'm not tryin' to be rude,

But hey pretty girl I'm feelin' you

The way you do the things you do

Remind me of my Lexus coup

That's why I'm all up in your grill

Tryna get you to a hotel

You must be a football coach

The way you got-"

Chloe cut Donald off with Demi Lovato's "Cool for the Summer." Throwing a wink at Beca, she grabbed Beca's hand and pulled her up to the front of the crowd of Bellas. Beca's stomach flipped. As Chloe pulled her so close that their noses nearly touched, Beca tried to ignore the strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Beca began singing backup for Chloe as the two belted,

"Got my mind on your body and your body on my mind

Got a taste for the cherry

I just need to take a bite

Don't tell your mother

Kiss one another

Die for each other

We're cool for the summer

Take me down into your paradise-"

The Bella rendition of this song was a little more risqué than Beca would've thought. As Chloe sang, she grinded her backside into Beca, swiveling her hips up and down the length of Beca's legs. It was all Beca could do to keep singing and not rip apart at the seams.

"Don't be scared because I'm your body type

Just something that we wanna try

Cause you-"

Beca took a deep breath, slightly relieved and slightly disappointed (wait, what?) that Bumper had cut the girls off. Beca was currently experiencing a strange tingling sensation. It felt like every cell in her body was dancing and she was losing her senses. Bumper gently took Amy's hand and crooning to her, he began singing "Come On Eileen" by Dexys Midnight Runners.

"You in that dress, my thoughts I confess

Verge on dirty

Ah, come on Eileen

Come on Eileen

Poor old Johnny Ray

Sounded sad upon the radio

But-"

Amy held a finger up to Bumper's lips, silencing him. His smug look dissipated as she began singing Neil Diamond's "Sweet Caroline." The rest of the Bellas knew this song well. Over the years, it was a song the Bellas had grown accustomed to performing.

"But then I know it's growing strong

Was in the spring

Then spring became the summer

Who'd have believed you'd come along

Hands, touching hands

Reaching out, touching me, touching you

Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

I'd be inclined

To believe they never would

Oh no, no."

The Treblemakers conceded defeat as the girls circled back to hit the chorus a final time. Beca grabbed Chloe in a playful hug as she swayed to the beat of the music and continued singing,

"Sweet Caroline

Good times never seemed so good

I'd be inclined

To believe they never would

Oh no, no."

The song wrapped up and the Bellas cheered, all high-fiving and hugging one another. Beca, displaying an uncharacteristic giddiness, gave Chloe a large bear hug and planted a dramatic kiss on her forehead. Chloe's skin burned at the feel of Beca's soft lips on her forehead. Why did a platonic gesture of giddy excitement have such an effect on her? Chloe couldn't help herself from grinning as she hugged Beca back and smacked her cheek with several playful kisses.

"Well, well, well," Sir Willups said as the song came to a close. That's a wrap! It looks like the Barden Bellas are our winners tonight!"

"WOOOOOO!" Amy cheered above the noise of anyone else, snatching the gift card from the older man's hands. Waving the gift card in the air, Amy continued yelling in celebration. "WHO RUN THE WORLD?!" She bellowed.

"Girls!" The Bellas all shouted back in unison.

The Bellas's celebration eventually subsided and The Swan Song converted from a riff-off stage into the general nightclub for which it was designed. The three remaining a-capella groups began drinking from the open bar and dancing to the music booming from inside the nightclub. Beca still felt wary about being in what was once a sinkhole, but there seemed to be a negative correlation between her worry and the amount of alcohol she consumed. The more Beca drank, the less she worried.

A few drinks in, Beca found herself engrossed in conversation with one of the female Vega-pellas. This particular Vega-pella was a tall, slender, attractive Colombian with chocolate brown hair and a full-lipped smile.

"You did really well up there," the girl complimented Beca, touching her arm.

"Uh, thanks," Beca said awkwardly. "Um, what did you say your name was again?"

"I didn't," the girl laughed. "But it's Lena."

"Lena," Beca said back. "I'm Beca."

"Well, it's nice to meet you Beca. Any chance you'll come dance with me?"

Beca swallowed hard. "Dance? Yeah. I do. I mean, I will… Sorry," Beca said, cringing. She hoped dearly that one day she would outgrow her awkward nervousness around attractive strangers.

Lena giggled, taking Beca's hand and whisking her onto the dance floor. Things heated up as the two began dancing with one another. Facing Beca, Lena ran her hand through Beca's hair and leaned down and placed a soft kiss on Beca's neck. Beca instinctively arched her head upward, giving Lena better access to continue what she was doing.

Chloe, who happened to be dancing with CR at the time, honed in on what was occurring between Beca and the beautiful Colombian. Chloe's eyes widened with shock as she saw the girl pecking at Beca's neck. And what was stranger, Chloe thought, was that Beca seemed to be enjoying herself. Chloe used every ounce of her being to attempt to swallow the jealousy threatening to rage. Beca was a friend and only a friend. Chloe didn't care about Beca that way anymore. It didn't matter who she liked. But… a girl? Chloe wondered.

Chloe's distraction over Beca and the Colombian was not lost on CR. "Girl, what up?" CR asked.

Chloe snapped her head back towards CR. "Oh, sorry. It's nothing."

CR read right through Chloe's bullshit. "I don't buy it."

"It's just… that's a girl," Chloe observed.

"Uh-huh? That's not news," CR said. "Beca's gone both ways in the past."

"Wait, so Beca's been with girls, too?" Chloe asked, her eyes widening. CR raised her eyebrows, as if Chloe's observation was nothing but obvious. "I just, um, didn't know that Beca was... an equal opportunist," Chloe finished clumsily.

"Duh! You've seen her around that scary blonde German lady from DSM!" CR shot back. "There's no world where that girl ain't nothing but a double-barrel shotgun."

Chloe didn't know how to take this news. In spite of herself, Chloe felt more than a bit interested over this revelation. Chloe had more or less figured Beca wasn't exclusively into guys. But hearing this suspicion confirmed filled her stomach with nervous energy.

Chloe turned her head back around to get a look at Beca. Beca's hands were around the other girl's hips, as the two danced sensually with one another. The other girl continued to pepper Beca's neck with kisses and Beca seemed really into it. Chloe took a deep breath, using every ounce of her being to ignore her blinding jealous rage. She had to cut this feeling off. She wasn't going to let herself feel jealous. Jealousy indicated the presence of someone she cared enough for to feel jealous. And Chloe absolutely didn't care for Beca in that capacity anymore. She couldn't. Steely resolve set in as Chloe tore her eyes away from Beca.

"CR?" Chloe asked above the boom of the music.

"Yeah?" CR asked in a concerned tone. CR knew the look of jealousy and knew that was the precise look Chloe was wearing across her face. CR also knew that Chloe and Beca had a bit of a thing for the other in college. Until now, CR figured this interest had dissipated after college though. Seeing Chloe suffer made her feel sympathy for her friend.

"Want to get the other Bellas together to dance?"

"Um, yeah. Let's see if we can tear Fat Amy away from Bumper's face first," CR said with a wink. Chloe laughed. The two girls went to collect Amy and made their way over to the bar.

As Chloe was surrounded by the other Bellas, she found herself being able to halfway successfully ignore Beca, who, by the way, was still dancing with the random Vega-pella. Chloe loved the other Bellas whole-heartedly. Being around them made her happy. She chose to focus on this happiness and not the jealousy, which by the way, totally didn't exist. Not at all.

As the night wore on, a laundry list of guys and girls had tried to make passes at Chloe. She happily danced with several of them, but as soon as they tried to make any real move on her, she would let them down easily. Chloe just wasn't in the mood for a hook-up. The evening ended around two in the morning. Amy and Bumper, true to form, had disappeared somewhere about an hour ago. Jesse and Aubrey were half-dancing, half-making out in a corner. Lily and Donald were smitten as they danced with one another. Chloe, CR, Stacie, Jessica, Ashley, Flo, and Emily were all fairly drunk and/or tired. The group of girls decided to head home.

As they were leaving the club and preparing to climb up the ladder and back onto street-level, a hand grabbed Chloe's shoulder from behind. "Don't leave me," Beca said.

"Becs!" Chloe exclaimed happily.

"Yeah, I'm coming with you guys."

"I thought you would want to stay here," Chloe said, slightly more accusatory than intended. "I mean," Chloe backtracked, clearing her throat and trying to plaster what seemed like a genuine smile on her face, "It seemed like you were having fun."

"No," Beca shook her head, leaning on Chloe for support, "I'm not into that girl."

"You seemed into her," Chloe observed, trying her best to capture the right level of nonchalance in her tone.

"Well, yeah… I mean she was hot," Beca began, furrowing her eyebrows and intensely focusing on her words, "But I just don't want to end up going home with her, you know? There's nothing there. She's not… Never mind."

"She's not what?" Chloe asked, really curious over Beca's insight into what she was looking for in a partner. Not that Chloe cared in any way other than as a friend.

"She's not… I don't know. She's too touchy. It's off-putting."

Chloe couldn't stop herself from laughing out loud. Beca cut her eyes over at Chloe curiously. Chloe suppressed her smile, explaining, "Becs, are you sure that's something that really bothers you?"

"Why do you ask?"

"We're literally holding hands right now."

Beca looked down and confirmed this was true. "Shit, how'd that happen?" Interestingly, Beca did not let go of Chloe's hand.

"Does it bother you?" Chloe asked.

"No," Beca answered automatically. She liked holding Chloe's hand. She wasn't sure why.

"But it bothered you with that other girl?" Chloe asked, a little too happy to point this out to Beca. Chloe kicked herself mentally for getting any amount of joy from this conversation.

"Well… yeah," Beca confessed, trying to figure out why this was. "She's not you… I mean, that was weird to say. Sorry. I don't know her that well is all."

Chloe sighed, trying to push down the intense feelings she was having. Chloe forced herself to give Beca the same advice she'd give to any other platonic friend. "Becs," Chloe said, patting Beca's arm. "You deserve to be happy. And it just seems to me like you tend to shoot down anyone that shows a passing interest in you. It's hard to find someone if you give no one a chance."

Beca sighed, looking deeply into Chloe's eyes. "You have really blue eyes. Like, really, really blue. Has anyone told you that?" Beca slurred.

Chloe laughed. Beca was nowhere near sober enough to have a serious conversation. "I think it's been mentioned," Chloe answered, linking her arm in Beca's as the two stumbled home alongside the other Bellas.

Alright, so I'm gonna need some input. We're coming pretty close to the moment we've all been waiting for. And I've got a chapter planned that would certainly bump the rating from "T" to "M." Quite honestly, you guys mean the world to me and I want to do whatever makes y'all happiest. That said, do y'all want me to include this chapter or no? It's fine if y'all don't want it, I can easily gloss over it and continue on with the story as planned. Just let me know :)