A/N 1: Wow, Chapter ten and into those double digits. I definitely couldn't have predicted this when I posted the first chapter of this story. Although, I did try to keep this chapter short and sweet; I was giving myself a limit of 1,000 words; yeah, no, that didn't happen. My mind literally wouldn't shut up – sorry.

A/N 2: I know I am starting sound like a stuck record, but honestly thank you so much for all the faves, follows and reviews! And just a second thanks to all the guests out there reading this story; didn't want leave you all out; so yeah, cheers!

A/N 3: So it's pretty late where I am... This isn't even an actual valid author's note, I just thought why not add to that word count, y'know...

XXX

Chapter Ten

Beca opened her eyes to unexpected surroundings. She regretfully sat up in order for a better look, until she felt the pounding in her head and returned back to laying down. It was then she remembered why she was sleeping on the couch, still in the hallway of her apartment.

Shortly after the cat incident last night, Stacie became too drunk to continue partying, resulting in Beca and Chloe ushering everyone out and into their awaited cabs outside. Turns out dealing with a small crowd of drunk people was far easier than dealing with one drunk Stacie.

Chloe had managed to calm her down from the hysterics of the loss of the cat, whilst Beca watched and sulked in the corner; she still wasn't over the embarrassment of her best friend's previous comment. Stacie also glared at Beca the entire time and refused to be in the same room with the 'cat thief'. After half an hour of the silent treatment, Stacie forgot all about her anger towards Beca, and demanded that she stroke her hair because she was feeling 'sleepy'. Which Beca made out was the biggest inconvenience ever; which it kind of was, because it was proving impossible to eat pizza with one hand...

Chloe hung around for a while and helped clean up a little, no matter how many times Beca told her she didn't have to. In actual fact, the DJ really wanted to talk about their previous conversation before they were interrupted, but it seemed her drunken roommate had different ideas. Part of her wanted to check Chloe still felt the same, now that she had sobered up, but a bigger part of her just wanted to have the talk because it would lead to certain activities they could do in her bedroom.

After ten minutes of pleading, convincing and Beca using her toddler voice, both woman managed to get Stacie into bed, but at a cost. In order for Stacie to stay in bed and go to sleep, Beca had to spend the night on the couch, just outside Stacie's door, where she could see the DJ at all times. A quick handshake and the readjustment of the sofa in the hallway, Stacie kept up her end of the bargain and even allowed Beca to walk Chloe to her taxi outside.

As soon as they were walkind down the first flight of stairs, Beca couldn't shake her need to address their situation, so she just jumped straight in, "Chlo, did you mean what you said?" she asked nervously, tugging at the redhead's hand and bringing them to a stop. The silence became too much, before Beca added in one short breath "Like, before Stacie went MIA..."

She continued to look down at the ground, rubbing her shoe on a scratch in one of the concrete steps.

"Beca?" she said firmly, lifting her face to look at her, "I did. I really did" she beamed. Beca let out a chuckle, and bit her lip, "You do mean the whole girlfriend thing, right? Because you could be talking about when I asked what pizza toppings you wanted-"

"We're having a moment right now, don't ruin it with pizza!" Chloe interrupt with a quiet laugh.

"Ruin a moment, with pizza? Are you mad? Yeah, I take it back, our relationship would never work if that's your stand on pizza" she deadpanned.

Chloe simply shrugged, "Surely I taste better than pizza?"

Beca's signature smirk was back, "Mmm, I don't know. Maybe I need reminding?" she asked coyly. Chloe closed the gap and kissed Beca hard, as she was pushed her up against the wall, hands pinned above her head. The brunette was just about to deepen the kiss, when Chloe pulled away quickly, returning to walk down the steps, like nothing had happened. She looked over her shoulder, flashing Beca a smug grin, "You can go and finish the left over pizza upstairs now and compare the two."

Yeah, no, Beca could live without pizza.

Stacie began to stir in her bed, bringing Beca out of her thoughts, the grin still stretched across her face. She shook her head, in order to remove the not so innocent thoughts of Chloe and got to her feet. Stacie was going to need coffee after last night, lots and lots of coffee.

XXX

Chloe [09:48am]: Morning :). I think we should meet up later and talk about last night. A sober conversation sounds like a good idea. Let me know when you're free xoxoxo

Chloe [09:48am]: And no, I'm not breaking up with you! I told you last night – no regrets. I want this. I want you, if you'll have me? Or did the pizza win last night? ;) xoxoxox

Beca [09:50am]: I was totally not in panic mode over that first message. I'll have you know I actually wanted to spill my coffee upon reading it, so... The pizza put up a good fight, but it wasn't even close! Xoxoxox

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Beca took each step slower than the last; causing her to be at an almost complete stop by the time she reached the top. As each step brought her closer, her self-doubt increased. Her path crossed with a resident on the stairwell, as they both did the awkward side step dance, but Beca was too wrapped up in her thoughts to care. Left step: Should I do this? Right step: Could it be seen as invading her privacy?

By the time she was stood outside the apartment door, she repeated the line from her pep talk the night before over and over again, as she finally knocked the rhythm of the words out on the door in front of her:

Go big or go home.

If in that moment she knew what she was going to be greeted with behind that closed door, she would have walked back down the steps a million times faster than the speed she had walked up.

But that's not how things went, and it's the reason she is currently running down the street, her arms hugging her body, willing herself to keep it together. She promised herself she wouldn't cry until she reached home, but failed miserably, stopping down a back alley and leaning on a dumpster, sobbing. The tears were spilling from her eyes and onto the hand preventing her head from touching the cold mental of the bin.

Beca didn't usually cry. Never mind crying in an alley way against a giant trash can. That's when it hit her, what she felt for Chloe wasn't love; it was foolery; smoke and mirrors; and a complete lack of intelligence on Beca's part. Of course Chloe Beale was too good to be true, and agreeing to be her girlfriend was the biggest red flag Beca had completely missed, totally blinded by lust, not love.

The emotions were taking over, her knees felt weak and she was very close to sitting by said dumpster and crying some more. Instead, she stood up straight and dried her eyes with the back of her hand, noting the eyeliner smeared on her knuckles. The same knuckles that had knocked on Chloe's apartment door moments ago with so much hope. It was that thought that made her angry, as she slammed her first into the hard metal in front of her, completely numb to the throbbing pain in her hand.

Chloe hadn't answered the door like Beca had previously imagined. Instead, she saw a flash of red hair and blue eyes, pottering around in the kitchen, whilst the door was slowly opened. It seemed everything slowed down, and Beca couldn't stop replying the events frame by frame in her mind, as she slammed her other hand into the dumpster.

The apartment was a similar layout to that of her own; open living and kitchen area; but the front door was in a different place. If roles were reversed, and it was Chloe knocking on Beca's door, the redhead wouldn't be able to see the kitchen. Therefore she wouldn't have caught a glimpse of Chloe in nothing but a towel stood next to the counter, when a man wearing nothing but a pair of boxers opened the door. His short brown hair was messy, the sleep still visible in the corner of his eyes, and the trace of a smile on his face.

Beca's heart felt like it had been hit with a sledge hammer, the force of it causing her to stumble back a step, but she couldn't take her eyes of her 'girlfriend' practically naked. She could see in the other woman's eyes, Chloe was shocked that Beca was knocking on her door; after all, it made sense. Chloe always came to her and Beca hadn't even step foot into the apartment building, until now.

And, now she guesses she knows why.

Chloe lied. She stood in the alley way, letting the heartbreak overtake her.

It was all a lie.

XXX