AN: A dear reviewer made a comment about Beca's quick success. It was positive, but I want to say some things.
The reason that Beca is promoted so quickly is because she's being assessed based upon her talent, potential, and proven results. Not seniority.
Our main character is hot shit and New Sound knows it.
Also: Care Warning: Panic attack
"Mom, Daddy, this is Beca."
Oh God. She's gonna be sick. Her vision swims, and for a nerve-racking minute, she's sure she's going to pass out in a puddle of vomit. The comforting stroke of fingers across the inside of her elbow and down her forearm helps, but just barely.
Nancy Beale is a vision into Chloe's future, and she's going to be gorgeous in her late 40's. Her hair is a bit lighter than Chloe's, but still pretty vibrant. Nancy's eyes, though, are green. The woman reaches out and takes Beca's limply half-raised hand, pulling her into a hug.
Beca's doing a great impression of a typical movie zombie, mummy, or maybe Bride of Frankenstein, arms up and out. It's great. Great. She awkwardly bends her arms at the elbow and embraces Chloe's mother like she's just been hugged mid-dance move doing 'the robot'. Only, nobody seems to mind and Chloe's beaming like she's passed on her job as the sun to Beca and the redhead's a sunflower. Nancy's saying a bunch of sweet things about how happy she is and how happy Beca makes Chloe, and all Beca can feel aside from how painfully inept she is at existing is the acutely burning stare of Michael Beale.
Standing over a foot taller than her meager 5'2", Michael cuts an imposing figure. He probably used to be really muscular back in the day. She assumes that the shade of sandy blond is similar to Chloe's brother, the yet-to-be-met Robert. Beca notices that the icy blue eyes she loves are so much more intimidating on him. As soon as Nancy releases her, she turns Beca in his direction. She tries to smile or laugh, or something, but it turns into some grimacing and that noise a door makes when you need to oil it but forget for about a hundred years.
"Heheheh. Um. Ahem." His eyebrows hike up, seemingly unimpressed. She tries again.
"H-hello, sir. I'm Beca Mitchell, Chloe's girlfriend," she's starting to sweat so much, "and I love her very much and it's an honor to meet you both." And for some reason beyond her comprehension, she bends at the waist in a deep bow like this is Japan and she's meeting the shogun. Which, in all honesty, deserves the same amount of caution and respect because this man was more likely to stab her than Aubrey.
"How long have you known my daughter?" A lot of answers race through her mind, some of them that will probably end with her demise, but she picks the most honest one.
"Not long enough, sir." Why is she still bowing? She smooths out her shirt to make the motion of straightening up less noticeable. It doesn't work.
Everyone's kinda just staring at her and because she's on a roll with the whole 'I feel completely out of control' thing, she starts hearing The Police's 'Every Breath You Take' in the background, "I'll be watchin' you" repeating as she shifts her weight from foot to foot.
This wasn't supposed to happen. They weren't supposed to meet Chloe's parents yet. She was supposed to discuss with Camila which clubs they'd be going to for the song that she'd yet to tell Chloe about specifically. They were supposed to have more time for her to pretend she wasn't freaking out. They weren't supposed to run into Chloe's parents out here on the streets of Miami. Bring back Mr. Cuban Sandwich.
"Isn't she adorable, Mom, Daddy?" And the frigid winter she's stuck in is broken, Nancy and Chloe both aww'ing over her like she's some delivery of a box of puppies. Michael is still there all arms crossed and staring at her. Nancy places her hand on his arm, pulling it over so she can hug it.
"Oh Mikey, relax, would you?"
He finally, finally breaks into a grin, patting her shoulder with the force of a football player. She forgot to tell him she wasn't playing defense. The air puffs out of her lungs and she coughs, which makes him laugh.
"You, you're alright. Good answer." She just laughs nervously.
"I told you guys!" Chloe hugs her from behind, pressing a kiss onto her bare shoulder.
Though it's something they've done basically since they met, for some reason it feels wildly inappropriate right now. She jumps. "Chloe!"
Her girlfriend is unbothered. "What?"
"'What'? Your parents are standing right here!" Her voice is a bit shrill. Michael laughs.
"It's not something you've done before, right, Beca?" She knows how horrified she looks. The sheer terror on her face makes him double over, bracing his hands on his thighs as he cries. Nancy swats his back.
"Michael! Don't laugh at the girl! Look at her, poor thing." That only makes him laugh harder, and he stumbles away a couple of feet.
"Don't mind him, dear. He's just messing with you." Beca nods mechanically. Chloe hugs her again, kissing from her shoulder up her neck. She's unsure if the shivering is from arousal or fear. Chloe chuckles against her ear.
"Relax, baby. I'm 27. It's okay. My parents know I have sex," she drops her voice down to a sultry whisper, "but they don't know how much I like sex with you." She whimpers, and Chloe laughs. Nancy smiles at them.
"What are you doing to her, Pooh Bear?" Chloe shrugs. Beca grins at the nickname, stowing it away for later.
"Just telling her I love her!" Beca rolls her eyes. The ringing of her phone distracts them. She picks it up, not recognizing the number.
"Hello?" A man responds.
"Hello? Is this Beca Mitchell from New Sound Records?" Beca chokes.
"Oh shit. Sorry, I mean yeah. How may I help you?" Chloe's parents are watching her.
"This is Kenny, Camila's manager. I'm just calling to let you know she's on her way. Twenty minutes." Beca's nodding even though he can't see.
"Okay, I'll see you both at the Setai then." They both hang up. She pockets her phone.
"Um, that was work calling-" Chloe's squeal cuts her off.
"Ooooohhh was that Camila?!" Now they're watching Chloe.
"Err, no, that was her manager. She's on her way to meet." Beca lowers her voice, trying to keep the information private in case there are any inquisitive ears. Chloe catches on.
"Oops, sorry." She gives Beca a quick peck. Really, her body's reaction to the redhead is something she can't control, so the massive smile and soft giggle just... happen. Chloe boops her nose.
"Oh, that was totes adorable, babe." Beca wrinkles her nose but doesn't reply to that.
"So um, I have to go to this thing for work. Chlo, do you want to hang out with your parents while I do that? It's just shop talk. You'll get to meet Camila later." Chloe pouts, bottom lip full and pink, eyes sparkling like sunlight on the water, and it's just so unfair. Her eyes widen.
"Jesus Christ, Chloe. How are you this beautiful?" There's some bite to it, but it's mostly astonishment. Nancy smiles like she's the one that was complimented.
"Mikey! Isn't she just the sweetest little thing?" Michael's observing her stoically. Nancy plows forward.
"Beca! Sweetheart, it's fine, go do your thing." She starts to drag Chloe away as her daughter whines.
"But Mooom! I wanna go with Becaaaa!" Beca beams, both pleased and amused by the giant child her girlfriend has become. Catching Chloe's eyes, she winks and blows a kiss.
Chloe lunges for it, hand clawing at the air and clutching it to her chest like it's the last thing she'll ever get. As she's being dragged away, she belts at the top of her lungs, "Near, far, whereEEEVVEERR you are," getting impossibly louder the farther down the street they go. Michael's hanging back a bit, pretending to check his phone as he walks behind them.
Her cheeks hurt from smiling so widely and her eyes feel wetter than normal. She cups her hands around her mouth, cutting Chloe off.
"And my heart will go oonnn and onnn!"
And Chloe's responding smile lights up Ocean Drive.
Her meeting with Camila goes well. It's pretty short and all business. She has a much shorter list of clubs than the artist does, for obvious reasons. Nobody knows who she is, so she's just going to make sure everything goes according to plan while getting drinks on NSR's tab. Chloe's text message tells her they're at the botanical gardens.
She walks the short distance from the Setai to the gardens entrance. Once she's there, she kinda just wanders around, letting her girlfriend know she's arrived.
Looking around, she studies the exotic plants as she roams. Coming to a small red bridge, she stands in the middle and watches the little tadpoles in the small pond. Almost-March in Miami is a sticky time, and winter is a fading thought. She flicks a dried leaf off of the railing. It spins in the air as it descends, landing on the water with few ripples. She senses Chloe before she steps onto the bridge.
"A lot of people get married here, y'know." Her eyebrow arches.
"Oh yeah?" Warm arms encircle her.
"Mhmm. There are tons of wedding photos on this bridge." She can feel Chloe nosing around in her hair, breathing deeply and nuzzling. Beca brings her hand up to hold onto the arms around her.
"Where are your parents?" She automatically tilts her head to the side to make room for Chloe to kiss down her neck when the redhead slides her hair out of the way.
"Mm. They're walking around. Mom's giving Daddy a hard time for scaring you." Beca chuckles.
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure I almost pissed myself." Chloe shakes behind her in silent laughter.
"My dad scared my first boyfriend so badly he actually did pee his pants." Beca barks a surprised laugh at that. "What? Really? How'd that go?" Chloe shrugs, biting her shoulder.
"Well. He broke up with me because I was 'too clingy'. So." The redhead hums carelessly.
"Then he definitely deserved it." She's really puzzled that anyone would think that too much Chloe is a bad thing. "Did you like, knit him a sweater with your face on it, or something?" Chloe's giggles are loud.
"That's ridiculous. No. I just called him everyday. Though I did keep a lock of his hair in my binder and a vial of his blood." Beca snorts, leaning against the railing.
"Sure. I didn't know you were into voodoo."
"So much you don't know about me, Mitchell." She closes her eyes when Chloe pushes against her, placing her hands on the railing on either side and trapping Beca.
"Then tell me," she mutters. Chloe's kissing down one of her arms and even though it's nearly 80 degrees Fahrenheit, she feels goosebumps erupting on her skin.
"Well, you already know about the time I was stuck in Cuba," Chloe mumbles, so preoccupied that she misses the snickering from Beca. "Aubrey and I were lost in the swamp in Georgia the summer of our junior year at Barden." She tightens her grip on the rail when the redhead brings an arm down to run her palm up the front of her shirt.
"How'd that happen?"
"Our Bellas captain, Alice, decided we needed to get better at 'figuring things out'," Chloe chuckles, "so she blindfolded us and left us in the swamp." Beca hums.
"So, obviously you escaped." Chloe nods, coming to rest her head on Beca's shoulder when some people walk by.
"Yeah, but I had to make a fire for us and fight off an alligator." Beca spins around, eyes large.
"What?" She doesn't know why she's looking Chloe over like she just got back from this fight.
"Yup," she pops her lips, all casual, "Aubrey was screeching like gator food and I guess the big guy was feeling hungry. I had to tell him 'no', though."
"You just tell an alligator 'no.'" A cheery head nod.
"And what, he just left? Like, 'good day to you'?" Chloe laughs.
"Well, I had to gently nudge him with a stick. Then we figured it was best to just try and find a way back."
"Oh, okay. You just 'gently nudged' an alligator." Beca shakes her head, baffled at the mystery in front of her.
Chloe's hands are on her hips now, thumbs rubbing over her hip bones, eyes electric blue and peaceful. She grabs the front of the redhead's shirt, pulling her down as Beca leans up to connect their lips. Chloe sighs contentedly.
"I love the color of your eyes, Becs," she says quietly, biting her lip. Beca's eyes are drawn to the movement.
"So. Tell me more about people getting married here," Beca mutters, heart racing.
Chloe's breath hitches and she whines as she leans back a little to study Beca better. She feels her eyes go wide when the redhead starts blushing furiously. Chloe lets go of her to cover her face with her hands. Beca's eyebrows slowly go up.
"Wuuuhhh? Chlo?" Chloe shakes her head, face still hidden. Beca grabs her hands, lacing their fingers. "What just happened?" The redhead looks at the ground.
"I um. I was, uh. Nothing," she laughs somewhat breathlessly, "I was just, imagining things." Chloe bites her lip again.
"Oh. Oh." And now she's blushing, too. Because yeah, she can imagine as well.
Chloe in a beautiful wedding gown, ivory instead of pure white because they'd make jokes about virginity and purity even though Beca would secretly disagree. Chloe's the purest person she's ever known. A sunset wedding, maybe on the beach here in Miami or in California. Slow dancing at dusk, soft fairy lights and candles in the trees and on the tables. White and yellow flowers because those would fit Chloe so well. Yellow was so Chloe. How brightly her eyes would shine, surrounded by the soft glow of the lights around them. Tears to the brim but not falling until Beca makes a joke so bad that the redhead can't help but laugh. She can picture it. Exactly how Chloe would bite her lip and exactly how astounded her voice would sound as she spoke.
Yeah. Beca can imagine it all.
"I love you, Chloe." Her eyes feel watery.
Nancy calls to them from a little ways away, waving them over. Chloe looks back to her, dropping her head for a gentle kiss, sweet and simple and oh-so deep. Standing forehead to forehead, Chloe whispers.
"I love you so much."
Dinner with Nancy and Michael had been peaceful.
She didn't sweat overly much and she didn't throw up on anyone. Chloe was more than happy to answer for the both of them as much as she was able to get away with. Throughout the meal, the redhead would throw her shy looks and rub her thigh, squeezing affectionately.
Michael was mostly quiet as well, occasionally speaking and asking questions. For the most part, he just watched everyone, especially Beca. While the looks weren't bad, they were intense. Whatever he was thinking about was generating enough heat to reach her.
Nancy had hugged her tightly when they had to leave, pulling her close.
"Take care of my Chloe, Beca. Love her." She nodded, returning the hug.
"Of course. I wouldn't dream of doing anything less."
They were back in their hotel room now, getting ready to go to the first club.
She sighed as she thought back to the botanical gardens. The whole wedding daydream thing had gotten into her head and it refused to leave. It was frustrating because even though she was ready, she wasn't ready.
Beca couldn't offer Chloe everything she deserved. She wasn't financially stable enough yet, and she still kind of felt like a bit of a child. Though their age difference wasn't that big, there were some moments where Chloe really felt like a woman.
Calm and graceful, gracious and confident. Chloe Beale could bounce in full of sunshine or she could float in like a queen, commanding an entire room with her eyes. She was smart and funny and totes a badass. Chloe was sweet and sexy and utterly sublime.
And Beca? Well. Beca was two frumpy sticks and a ball of scrap yarn.
Realistically, she knew she wasn't that bad, that she had some redeeming qualities. She was musically adept, good enough to somehow make it a career. She was savvy enough to flirt her way into Chloe's heart. But she still didn't feel enough, and until she did, she couldn't ask Chloe to do forever.
But would she ever feel good enough? She was borderline insane.
And not just in the lack of self-esteem sense.
Ever since her out-of-the-blue promotion to junior producer, she's been having these... hallucinations. She'd hear weird noises, see strange things. Sometimes she wouldn't know what it was about a room that seemed odd and other times it was glaringly obvious, like the incident she dubbed 'the Ghost of Amy.' Moments as extreme as that one were exceedingly rare. It had only happened one other time, when she was in the storage room at TME.
"Where is that thing?" She dug around in the back shelf, pushing and sliding cases of brass instruments. She was looking for a particular alto saxophone they'd gotten over a year ago. It had come in and been summarily forgotten. She was hoping she'd be able to find it and put it to good use. Beca coughs when she accidentally shuffles a thicker layer of dust into her face.
They really needed to clean in here. She spits out something gritty.
"Ew. That's disgusting."
She hears a clicking noise. It sounds like a lock spinning into place. Beca turns around, but there's nothing here. She scratches her nose and returns to the shelf.
In the corner, the forgotten instrument sits, its case covered in pink and green stickers. Beca fist pumps.
"There you are, you little bastard."
As she approaches, she starts to notice a weird smell. It's hot, like something is burning. She looks up, searching for a burnt-out bulb but they're all fine. There's nothing. Beca decides to grab the sax and hightail it. She's midway through the room when a figure walks up from behind a shelf.
It's a man in surgeon's gear, scalpel in hand. She jumps, dropping the case and screaming. The surgeon approaches with the scalpel raised. Beca bumps into another shelf, knocking an empty box and some sheet music down. It's only a second taken to glance and register these things, but by the time her head turns back, the man is right in front of her.
She tries to scream again but his hand is on her throat. She scratches at his face, loosening his mask. He opens his mouth, and the noises happen again.
The loud clicking, sounding now like a large spider. Click click click. Click click click.
His face gets closer, and she hears multiple voices. His mouth isn't moving but its coming from him.
"Get out! Get out, get out! MOVE!" A toneless roaring erupts, and she hears the screams of other people from the surgeon.
He stabs his scalpel into the boxes behind her, sawing haphazardly as his eyes roll into the back of his head.
She's finally able to get his hand off of her throat and she falls to the side, slamming her elbow into the shelf as she goes down. She turns to kick him, but he's gone.
It's quiet again.
Tears burst forth, flowing down her cheeks as she hyperventilates. She feels trapped in her shirt. It's too tight and she can't breathe. She wants to pull it off but can't remember how. Beca tries to get up, but she isn't sure which way is up or down. Her crying becomes vocal, breaking and gasping. She's afraid to move.
She's afraid that it'll come back if she does.
Just as she starts feeling the hair on the back of her neck rise, the sensation of noiseless sound building and getting set to explode in a violent cacophony, the storage room door opens and it all stops.
Beca looks up into the concerned face of the woman she loves.
Chloe had been so, so worried. And she'd been so, so gentle.
Chloe had wrapped her up in a hug, having no idea what was wrong but shielding her from everything she could. She had sat, cradling Beca in the storage room and singing to her until she stopped crying, and then until she felt okay enough to move.
Beca couldn't tell her exactly what was wrong, instead saying that she's been so tired that she's freaking out a bit. She had no idea what was wrong with her.
And Chloe just never pushed, allowing Beca the time she needed to work through it, just like always. Never rushing, never hurrying, always there.
So how? How could Beca ask a wonderful woman like Chloe Beale to marry someone like her, who was this broken, crazy person? She had to fix herself first. But how could she fix what she had no idea was the issue?
She presses her fists into her eyes, lying back against the sheets in their hotel room.
"You just did your hair, babe. Sure you want to do that?" Chloe comes out from the bathroom looking like a vision.
It's a Little Black Dress, and it's perfect on her.
Cutting mid-thigh and hugging her curves, shimmering and sleek. Accentuated with a thin necklace and dangling earrings, bangles on one arm clinking as she pulls on her strappy heels. Her breath seems to have left and never returned. Was there even any air in the room? There had to be.
You can't have fire without oxygen.
And Chloe was burning hotter than the sun. She pushes up on her arms, completely mesmerized.
"Wow, Chlo." Chloe wrinkles her nose.
"Yeah? Not too much?" Beca laughs, a limp, airy effort. She isn't sure if she shakes her head or not.
"No. Definitely not too much. It's just right. You're just right." Her heart hurts.
Chloe giggles and winks. Why does her heart hurt so much?
She reaches for Chloe, bringing the redhead between her legs. Chloe beams at her, charmed beyond words. She bends down, planting her hands on Beca's thighs over her dress and sliding them up as she kisses deeply.
"You look really pretty in this dress, Becs." Chloe pulls her up by a hand, twirling her around and patting her butt. She smiles at the redhead.
Chloe had picked a dress out for her, bubbling with joy at the thought. Her dress was loose, fluttery and flowy. It was a bit longer than Chloe's, just brushing the tops of her knees. "Meant for dancing and spinning," Chloe had said when she'd handed the dress to Beca.
So she'd put it on, the silvery white complementing her skin tone well. Beca picks up her clutch and checks her watch.
"We should probably leave soon," she says as she puts her arms around Chloe's neck, reaching up the short distance to kiss her. Chloe hums and nods in the kiss, smoothing her palms along Beca's arms and onto her lower back.
The first club is packed when they get there. This was one of the clubs that both she and Camila would be at tonight, and it seems word had gotten around because the line was so far down the street that the people disappeared around the block. She takes Chloe's hand as they bypass and go straight to the bouncer. He looks them up and down, tapping his clipboard.
"New Sound Records. Mitchell. She's with me," Beca says, raising their joined hands. The bouncer nods, smiling genially and letting them through.
"Everyone's going nuts about this new song. It's supposed to be amazing." Beca smirks. She can't wait for Chloe to hear it. She rubs her nose.
"Yeah, thanks dude. We worked really hard on it. Camila's wonderful." Chloe starts bouncing at the name.
As they enter, the redhead leans down to speak into her ear, "So, are you going to tell me about the song? Don't think I haven't noticed that, by the way." Beca shrugs indifferently.
"You're going to hear it in less than an hour. You can wait, Chlo. It's a great song though. You'll love it. I wrote it about you." She shrugs again. "Well, the original, anyway. This is a little bit different." Chloe squeals.
"Oh! You're such a romantic! Writing all of these songs about me!" Beca really wants to laugh.
"I do. I write a lot of songs about you." Emily had burst out laughing when Beca told her about the song becoming such a huge event. She still remembers Bambi's rapping. It's still crazy that Buddy had loved it so much.
"I can't wait, I can't wait! Oh gosh. Let's go get a drink." Chloe drags her to the main bar, but Beca pulls her back and points over to the stairs, indicating that they were in the VIP lounge. The redhead's eyebrows jump in surprise and acknowledgment.
"I forget you're doing big things and becoming all VIP'ish." She shrugs.
"I mean, I don't really care about it all. I like music. I wouldn't mind being a nobody. The money is nice, though." Chloe brings her mouth closer.
"You've always been somebody to me, babe." She automatically smiles.
Sitting upstairs, she pokes at the cherry in her drink, trying to spear it but it keeps falling. Chloe however, was just fine.
The redhead gets hers on the first try, holding it between her teeth and burning Beca with her eyes. She pouts.
"How did you get it? My drink is broken," she whines. Chloe hooks her by the back of her neck, yanking her closer and nearly onto her lap. Beca yelps as she holds the drink out to keep it from spilling.
"Chloe!" She's ignored as the redhead directs her face down, fruit still held captive.
With a sultry wink and a wet little questioning whimper, Chloe offers her the cherry.
Maintaining eye contact, Beca drains her cocktail, placing it on the table and sinking a hand into Chloe's hair. She hears the redhead's breath hitch when she clenches her hand, grabbing copper curls surely.
Slowly, Beca leans in, running her tongue across Chloe's lips before pressing a kiss to them. She feels more than hears the whimper from her girlfriend, whose hands have fallen limp and merely sit on her waist. With a gentle bite, she splits the cherry and sits back, chewing with a confident smirk.
Chloe's eyes slowly flutter open as she finally takes her half of the fruit into her mouth and eats it. Beca could live in Chloe's eyes. She fetches the other cherry, but Chloe snatches it from her. With a simple arcing of an eyebrow, she waits.
Chloe, with hooded eyes and a sweet kiss, drops the red fruit into her cleavage. Beca jumps at how cold it is.
"Geez dude! A little warning?" But nah.
The redhead dives right in, arms coming around her to pull Beca's torso up and against her, holding her captive as she licks into Beca's chest for the second cherry. Her head falls back as her hands seek out Chloe's hair, sinking her fingers into them.
It takes far longer than necessary, but the redhead eventually secures the cherry, coming back up with a smile and a quick kiss. Beca warily eyes her.
"You got lost in there?" A wink.
"Maybe. It's easy to lose myself in you." And okay, that was smooth. She blushes.
Their Valentine's Day had been spent in Chloe's apartment, with dinner and wine. The redhead had scattered rose petals and set a bath in the candlelight. It was cozy and romantic and so Chloe that Beca had cried a little.
Still, she felt like she needed to do something, too. So she was hoping that this whole trip, meeting her parents and writing this song that would be playing across the country would make up for her being busy.
Camila coming up the stairs redirects their attention, and Chloe starts slowly leaking air and rising in pitch. Beca laughs and waves Camila over as they stand.
"Hi Beca! And hi! I'm Camila." She comes over and takes Chloe's hand, shaking it before bringing her into a quick hug. Beca's snort is pretty loud, but the redhead's face is priceless.
"Sorry, don't mind her. She's a little starstruck. This is Chloe, my girlfriend." Chloe nods, but her face is still kind of frozen in a shocked smile. "Maybe a lot starstruck. You get here okay?"
As they talk business, Chloe slowly thaws, apologizing for being weird and then they quickly hit it off. They're currently trading stories about Beca.
"Oh! I know! Isn't she just the cutest!?" And damn it all, why does everyone say that?
"I'm badass, not cute," she spits the word out like it's dirty. Camila laughs.
"She is! When we first met, she was all, 'Miss Cabello' and I was just like, 'ew please don't call me that, I'm younger than you'." Both of them laugh as they ignore her. The music in the club lowers for a bit.
"Heeeeyyyy sexy people!" Wild cheers erupt from the lower floor.
"We're going to play Camila Cabello's new single! It's going to be a hit, I can feel it! Are you guys ready to feel it too?!" Whistling and more cheering. Beca's trying to hide her giddy smile as she watches Chloe get excited. A club employee brings a microphone over to Camila.
"Hi everyone! I'm so excited for you guys to hear this song! I worked very hard on it with everyone at New Sound Records," she winks at Beca, who winks back, "and I hope you all love it as much as I do! Here's my new song: Havana!"
As the club goes wild, Chloe's eyes briefly flit to her for a second before passing back out over the railing. Beca takes her hand and guides her to the dance floor. Ignoring the question on her face, she pulls them close together, close enough for Chloe to hear her sing the song playing over the speakers as they start to move to the beat. She can't wait for it to click.
"Havana, ooh na-na. Half of my heart is in Havana, ooh na-na." And there it is.
Chloe's eyes are wide, surprised as she connects the dots. She nearly stops singing, she wants to laugh so badly. Instead, she merely winks as she sings, dancing around and on Chloe.
"He said 'there's a lot of girls I can do with'" She rolls her eyes as she sings that part, shaking her shoulders in a shimmy and poking Chloe in the chest for "But I can't without you."
She twirls, pressing her back to Chloe's front, dancing her fingers down the side of the redhead's face. Beca snags the edge of Chloe's jaw, bringing it closer and biting the underside and soothing with her tongue as she sways.
"I'm doin' forever in a minute," she bites her lip, because it's every other thought these days, "That summer night in June," winking as she sees the recognition of that particular memory in Chloe's eyes.
They've known each other for four and a half months now, and it just seems to get wilder. They're walking down Hollywood Boulevard. The place seems more alive at night than it does during the day. There's a different magic in the evening, she thinks. Chloe's strolling along with her as they laugh about something stupid. The background noise seems to fade in and out as she looks at the redhead.
She's a different kind of human. One crafted from the top shelf parts, made extra carefully and painted more exquisitely. Beca's so caught up in her musings that she clips a trash can and stumbles. Before she can embarrass herself further by smacking her face into the Walk of Fame, Chloe catches her.
With the kind of reflexes honed through rigorous discipline, Chloe sweeps by her, catching her by the middle and swinging her around until they're standing face-to-face with her arms folded to her chest between them. She expels the last of her gasp, staring into glistening eyes, radiant and excited from movement.
"Hey there," Chloe chimes, voice like a perfect fifth. She feels herself settle, a calmness flowing through her like a gentle river, powerful and deep and so unhurried.
"Hi."
How many times has she completely zoned out when staring at Chloe? A whistle from a passerby.
"You gonna marry her, or do I need to?" A man calls out as he walks by. Beca isn't sure who he's talking to, probably her because Chloe's Chloe, but the redhead laughs and replies.
"Back off, buddy. This one's mine." And her grin is huge and sincere.
Yeah, she was Chloe's alright. From the moment they met.
AN: Songs: Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On
Camila Cabello - Havana (I've been waiting to use this song since chapter 4 lol)