A/N: Sorry I didn't update while on vacation, but I totally forgot my laptop and we had a really busy weekend in Wichita. Which goes on to say WICKED WAS AWESOME. I may or may not write a small Bechloe fic centered around Wicked. (It was my third time seeing it). Anyway, here's the newest chapter. Get ready for a little bit of drama and some clarity.
Song Used: Asleep - STATES
Cassidy fell asleep thirty minutes into their drive down to San Diego, leaving Chloe and Beca in an awkward silence. The radio was on, playing softly in the background as Chloe steals a few glances of Beca every couple of minutes. She contemplates starting a conversation, but she doesn't know where to begin, and Beca seems very focused on driving.
A familiar song comes on and Chloe slightly turns her head when she hears Beca singing along, in perfect pitch with the artist. Her fingers were gently tapping the steering wheel along to the beat of the song.
I can't stand to see your eyes when they're aiming at the floor.
But the worst is knowing I'm the reason for your bitter heart.
And with my head in my hands, I'm thinking of the things I've done so wrong.
Though it's what I deserve, never take the melody from my song.
"Wow, you sound just like the lead singer..." Chloe breaks the silence between them.
"Uhm... That's because that's- uh, that's me." Beca admits.
"Really? How come it's not titled under your name then?" Chloe asks, pointing to the touch screen monitor in Beca's dashboard that claimed the artist was 'States'.
"I was filling in for the lead singer when she got sick with pneumonia." Beca shrugs. "I wrote and recorded their album, I already got enough credit. Besides, I like the fact that no one outside of the music industry really knows who I am. Yeah, common people know BM is this awesome producer and is worth millions, but I don't get recognized on the streets because I'm so behind the scenes. Spencer goes to award shows to receive all of my stuff and I stay home. All of that fame and glamour thing isn't really my style. I like being able to walk down the street without paparazzi following me around and narrating my life. It's nice, especially now."
"Now?"
"Yeah, think about it Chlo. If I was like Taylor Swift or Demi Lovato, I'd never be left alone. And I wouldn't want to put you or Cassidy through the brutal world of tabloid rumors." Beca admits. "I'm glad I'm successful and can support our daughter and what not for the rest of my life, but I'm also glad that we'll hopefully never have to get bombarded. That's a lot of pressure on a child."
"You're right, it is. And I'm kind of glad, too. Could you imagine what they'd say if you were publicly famous?"
"I can see the headlines now." Beca says, taking one hand off the steering wheel and waving it over her head. "Famous music producer Beca Mitchell seen with mysterious redhead and possible daughter."
Chloe chuckles at Beca's 'newscaster' voice and decides to join in. "Beca Mitchell was spotted with a gorgeous redhead at the San Diego Zoo today."
"Oh yeah? Talking yourself up there, Chloe." Beca jokes at Chloe's emphasis on 'gorgeous'.
"I'm pretty confident about all of this." Chloe smirks as she motions the length of her body.
Beca presses her lips together in an awkward smile. "You should be."
The San Diego Zoo is famous for a few things, but one in particular... The pandas. However, currently, Beca is FREAKING out over the red pandas, not... you know, actual pandas.
"Oh my god!" Beca practically yells as she stares into the habitat. "They're soooo cute! LOOK AT HOW CUTE THEY ARE!"
Beca excitedly points to the red panda as he stares directly at her. "OH MY GOD! HE IS STARING AT ME!"
Cassidy and Chloe watch in amusement as Beca makes childish faces at the red panda, her voice rising three pitches as she coos.
"You're like a fox, and a raccoon, and a bear, and a dog, and a cat. You're like every adorable animal in one animal!"
"Should we make her stop?" Cassidy leans towards her mother.
"Not yet." Chloe smirks, pulling out her phone and opening the camera to record Beca.
"Cass! Seriously! Come look at how cute he is!" Beca exclaims, animatedly waving her hands. "Oh my goooood."
Cassidy chuckles and stands next to her other mom who is kneeling on the ground, waving at the animal. "Mom, you're embarrassing us."
"But LOOK AT HOW CUTE!" Beca defends as she points. "He is adorable!"
"Oooookay." Cassidy draws out. "He's cute, but I want to see all the other animals!"
"Okay, okay. We'll go. What's next?" Beca says, regaining her mature composure.
"Can I go into the lorikeet exhibit and feed them?" Cassidy asks excitedly, pointing her finger at the interactive exhibit.
"Of course, Cass." Beca smiles, grabbing her daughter's hand and the three of them start heading towards the lorikeets. Beca purchases food for them and is about to head in when her phone rings. She pulls it out of her pocket and sees that spencer is calling. "Uh, hey... I got to take this real fast. Can I meet you in there?"
"Of course." Chloe replies, grabbing the food that Beca's holding out towards her, Cassidy growing impatient as her mother's stare at each other.
"Sweet, thanks." Beca swipes her phone to answer the call as Cassidy practically drags Chloe into the habitat.
"What's up?"
'Oh nothing. Just wanted to see what you were up to.'
"I'm at the zoo."
'What are you, five?' Spencer chuckles.
"I'm with Cass and Chlo." Beca replies, rolling her eyes at her assistant.
'So everything went well then?'
"What do you mean?"
'No one told you?'
"Told me what, dude?"
'Chloe was at mine and Ashley's bachelorette party. I didn't realize Ashley knew your friends.'
Beca's eyes widen and she looks back into the exhibit to see Chloe and Cassidy feeding the lorikeets. "What happened?"
'Well, she got super drunk... But you probably knew that. Anyway, she tried leaving to tell you she loved you.'
"So Posen wasn't lying..."
'Probably not. I mean, Becs, she was really drunk and adamant about telling you her feelings. We stopped her, but figured she'd do something when she got to your house later on...'
"Oh man, did she do something." Beca breathes out, remembering the previous night. "But we can talk about this later, yeah? I'm supposed to be feeding the birds."
'Of course, have fun!'
Beca hangs up the phone and is about to head into the exhibit when an Australian accent floods her ears.
"Well, well, well... Do my eyes deceive me or is that Beca Mitchell?"
Beca turns around and is faced with the sight of the Origliasso twins, aka The Veronicas. One of which, Beca dated.
"No way! Jess, Lisa! What are you guys doing here?"
"Here with the cousin." Lisa motions to the small boy next to her. "Which reminds me, I told him we'd go feed the birds. I'll let you two catch up."
Lisa grabs the boy's hand and leads him into the exhibit while Beca and Jess stand next to the wired cage.
"So, how have you been?"
"Good, you know. Here, there." Jess shrugs. "What about you? It's been awhile."
Beca inhales sharply and looks at Jess then over her shoulder to see how far into the enclosure Cassidy and Chloe were. "I've been really good." Beca smiles, returning her attention her 'other' ex.
"That's great, Beca! I'm glad you're doing well." The Australian girl exclaims. "So what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I'm uh- here with my daughter." Beca motions her head toward the lorikeet exhibit.
"Cassidy, right? Finally connected with her?"
"Yeah, dude!" Beca replies happily. "She's so awesome."
"And Chloe?" Jess asks, knowing a big part of her breakup with Beca was the redhead.
"We're just friends." Beca shrugs. "I'm just glad to have them back in my life."
"Good! I'm so happy to hear that. Really, Beca, I am." Jess steps forward and embraces Beca in a hug.
In The Exhibit
"Mom." Cassidy deadpans, trying to get Chloe's attention. "Mom. Stop staring at Beca and feed the birds!"
Chloe tears her eyes away from the sight of Beca happily hugging someone and looks down at Cass. "Sorry, sweetheart. Beca's just talking to someone who looks oddly like one of The Veronicas."
"That's because she is." A voice says from behind her. Chloe turns around to see a raven haired woman standing with a small boy. "I'm Lisa Origliasso."
"Oh my God." Chloe's eyes widen at the famous musician in front of her. "You're.. Oh my god."
"Sorry, couldn't help but overhear. You're here with Beca?"
"Yeah, uh..." Chloe points towards Cassidy. "This is our daughter."
"Hi!" Cassidy waves excitedly.
"Oh, you must be Chloe!" Lisa smiles widely at the pair. "Beca used to talk about you two all the time."
"She did? How do you know Beca?"
"Yeah, she and Jess dated for a bit. But we also recorded with her." Lisa shrugs as she hands the boy the nectar for the birds.
"Oh." Chloe's face falls as her eyes turn their attention back to Beca who was laughing with the other Veronica. The feeling of jealousy started swelling in her heart and she grits her teeth before pretending everything was fine. "Well, that's totes awesome."
Chloe looks down at Cassidy who had gone back to feeding the birds with the small boy that Lisa had been with.
"Could you keep an eye on her for like one second?" Chloe asks Lisa. The Australian nods and Chloe excuses herself out of the exhibit, walking up towards Beca and linking her arm with the short brunette. "Hey, Beca? Cassidy wants you to come feed the birds with her."
Beca stiffens at the gesture from Chloe before looking between her and Jess. "Yeah, okay."
"I'm a HUGE fan of your music, by the way." Chloe says towards Jess before pulling Beca towards the exhibit. Beca looks behind at Jess and mouths 'I'm sorry', earning her a wink and a thumbs up. Beca stumbles as she tries to keep up with Chloe who is leading her back to where Cassidy was.
"Chlo... What was that?"
"What was what?" Chloe feigns innocence.
"That little... stunt back there? Pulling me away from Jess?" Beca explains.
"Nothing." Chloe shakes her head as they reach Cassidy. "It's just... Cassidy wanted you."
"Yeah, okay." Beca replies sarcastically while rolling her eyes.
"What?" Chloe looks at Beca, furrowing her eyebrow.
"Nothing. It just didn't seem like nothing." Beca defends.
"It was nothing." Chloe reiterates.
"Okay, Chlo." Beca puts her hands up, signaling that she was done asking questions at Chloe's sudden behavior change. If she had known any better, Chloe seemed to be seething with jealousy. She had seen it once before, when they were younger.
Beca laughs at a joke Aubrey tells as they walk towards the gym to practice for their upcoming basketball game. Beca stops to let the last few laughs out, holding on to Aubrey's shoulder as her other arm crosses over her stomach.
"Dude you're killing me." Beca coughs out before looking up at her best friend since freshman year.
"I'm sorry! I just thought it was a hilarious joke." Aubrey stifles a laugh as she wraps an arm around Beca and practically drags her to the gym.
"You should tell Chloe that joke."
"Does your girlfriend even like me, Becs?" Aubrey raises an eyebrow. Beca and Chloe had only been dating for a couple of months, but so far, Aubrey hadn't really gotten the chance to know the redhead well.
"Dude, yeah! Why wouldn't she?"
"It may or may not be the very angry look she's giving both of us right now." Aubrey backs off of Beca and pushes her toward her girlfriend while she goes and tries to find Stacie.
Beca walks up towards Chloe and smiles. "Hey, Chlo. What's up?"
"What was that?" Chloe asks suspiciously.
"What was what, now?" Beca replies, confused.
"You and Posen... What was that?"
Beca's eyes widen as the lightbulb in her head clicks on. "Oh. Nothing, babe."
"It didn't seem like nothing, Beca."
"Chloe, really? Don't be jealous. Aubrey's been my best friend for two and a half years. We're like sisters."
"Yeah, okay." Chloe rolls her eyes.
The drive back to Santa Monica had been relatively silent. Beca didn't really know how to start a conversation with Chloe after what had transpired at the zoo, and she didn't want to make anything worse by trying to confirm her 'Chloe is jealous' theory. So, she stayed silent, tapping along to the beat on the radio as Cassidy and Chloe talk about the animals they saw.
"Where do I turn?" Beca asks as she pulls into the neighborhood that Chloe told her she lived in.
"Uh Brooktree Road." Chloe says, pointing left as they approach the street sign. Beca pulls off of Sunset Boulevard and heads down the street. "It's the house right before Hightree."
"Got it," Beca replies, driving along the curved neighborhood road. She pulls into the driveway and parks her car. "Uhm, we're here."
"Awesome. Well..." Chloe states biting her lip. "Cass, can Beca and I talk for a minute?"
"Whatever." Cassidy rolls her eyes before leaning over the center consol from the backseat to hug Beca. "Love you, Beca. I'll see you soon."
Cassidy detaches herself from Beca and opens the car door. "Love you, too, Cass." Beca replies as her daughter gets out of the car, using the keypad to open the garage and let herself in the house. "So...?"
"So..."
"What did you want to talk about?" Beca raises an eyebrow at Chloe.
"I- Uhm... Thank you for today." Chloe stutters.
"That's it? Chloe, pretty sure Cassidy could have stayed in the car for th-" Beca's cut off by Chloe's lip against hers. She gulps loudly before gently pushing Chloe away. "Chloe... I- we can't."
"Why do you keep saying that?" Chloe slowly backs away from Beca trying to keep the tears from swelling up in her eyes.
"Because it's not fair to Cassidy." Beca lets out a deep breath and places her hands on the steering wheel, looking down at her legs. "Look, we can't get her hopes up. We can't do anything that'll make her think we're getting back together."
"But what if that's what I want?" Chloe asks softly. "What if we were back together?"
"That's too many 'what if's, Chloe. Look, don't get me wrong... I love you and yes, I want nothing more than..." Beca points between herself and Chloe, "this..."
"I feel like there's a 'but' coming..." Chloe bites her lower lip.
"But do you really trust me after I abandoned you after a decade? Are you really over everything that happened?"
"Well, no... But-"
"But nothing, Chloe. If this is eventually what's supposed to happen, I want to do this right. And that means I'm going to earn your forgiveness and trust. I'm not going to rush things and jump into something when I know your insecurities will still be lingering over our heads. We'd only be setting ourselves up for the greatest fall of all time."
"I've waited ten years for you to be this person again, and now, you're backing away?"
"Chlo, no... It's not like that." Beca says defensively. "I may be the person you want, but I'm still the person who broke your trust and hurt you. And you need to forgive that side of me before you can trust who I am now. And I need to earn that."
Chloe hangs her head and sighs. She knows Beca's right, she knows that she rushed things and she feels completely stupid for doing so. But who could blame her? Beca had changed and Chloe was so blinded by the new Beca that she completely detached the new Beca from the old Beca who broke her heart. To her, they weren't the same person and she knew she had to realize that they were in order to fix things.
"You're right, Beca. I'm sorry for my behavior the last two days."
"Don't apologize for the way you feel, Chloe. Just don't forget that while I may have grown up and changed, I'm still the very person who hurt you." Beca turns her head and stares at Chloe. "Look, Chlo... I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but I waited ten years for you. I think I can wait a little longer. You need to be ready, you need to have forgiven me, and you need to trust me or this won't work."
"It didn't seem like nothing, Beca."
"Chloe, really? Don't be jealous. Aubrey's been my best friend for two and a half years. We're like sisters."
"Yeah, okay." Chloe rolls her eyes. "Because sisters act like you two were."
"Chlo, it was nothing, I swear. You really think I'd do that to you?" Beca pleadingly asks.
"I don't know, Beca." Chloe shrugs her shoulders. "It's not like we've been dating for years. I don't know what you're capable of."
"Wow, okay." Beca huffs out. "That's great."
"What?"
"You don't trust me, Chloe. And our relationship will never last if you don't trust me." Beca goes to leave and Chloe grabs Beca's arm.
"I'm sorry." Chloe shakes her head as her grip tightens on Beca's arm. "Beca, look at me, please."
Beca turns her head to look at her girlfriend. "You need to figure out a way to trust me, Chloe. I'm not some player and I'm not going to cheat on you, okay? I want to be with you and if that's something I have to prove everyday in order for you to trust me, then I will. But don't you ever think I'd be capable of doing something like that."
"You told me that once before..." Chloe's voice falls, a few tears streaming down her face. "That if I didn't trust you, our relationship would never work."
"And eventually you found a way to trust me and it worked, until I broke your trust and left you when you... You know." Beca sighs, reaching across the car and wiping away the tears with her thumb. "That's why I can't do this Chloe. Please understand that that's all it is. I can't let us fall apart again because there's no trust."
"No, no. You're absolutely right, Beca. I just got so caught up in my jealousy that I acted on it, and that was wrong of me. I know you're trying your hardest to earn my trust and forgiveness... I just need you to know that I'm trying, too."
"Of course I know that, Chloe. But I know it's hard and that's why I don't want us ruining it by acting like a couple again. Because that's what Cassidy will see and when it doesn't work, she'll be heartbroken." Beca lowers her head. "You need time to think, and that's okay. I'll be here when you really figure out how you feel about all of me. When you're not confused and torn between who I am and who I was. Okay?"
Chloe leans across the center consol and wraps her arms tightly around Beca, crying into her shoulder. Beca stiffens at the embrace, but gently places her hand on Chloe's back and rubs circles.
"Thank you." Chloe mumbles before letting go of Beca and placing her hand on the door handle. "I should... go."
"Okay," Beca agrees, knowing Chloe needed time alone to process everything. "Uh... Just call if you need anything, okay?"
"Okay."
A/N #2: So I was kind of iffy about this chapter, but... yeah. Please don't hate me. It's just not their time... YET