Author's 1st Note: I hate my wrist! xD

But hey, I really didn't want to leave you guys hanging for too long, so I tried to type this chapter up as fast as I could.

Hope you guys are ready for it. ;)

Beca and Chloe sat down at their table, but Beca didn't make eye contact with her new partner. Chloe noticed this but decided to greet her anyway.

"Hey, Beca." The redhead gave her a soft smile, hoping the brunette would warm up to it. It took her a second, but Beca eventually replied without looking at her.

"Hi, Chloe."

Cold.

In the short amount of time Chloe had known Beca, she never once heard the track star speak so bleakly rigid, especially towards her. Chloe would be lying if she said it hadn't stung a bit.

The redhead tightened her mouth and slowly nodded her head. It was clear Beca didn't want to talk to her, but Chloe felt like silence wouldn't solve anything, and she really did want to fix whatever was misguided between them. Chloe waited a few seconds, then restarted their conversation.

"Listen, Bec–" The brunette glanced at her through the corner of her eye, "I really think you and I should have a ta–"

"Chloe! We're going to be moving into the kitchen in a few minutes, please pay attention." Ms. Gail's sudden instructions caught both girls off guard and caused them to jump in their seats.

"Sorry, Ms. Gail." Chloe apologized, getting a quick peek of Beca before dropping her eyes to her lap. She was defeated for now, but Chloe wasn't about to give up that easily.

Beca was both relieved and disappointed their teacher interrupted them. She wanted to hear what Chloe had to say about everything, but at the same time, her stubborn irritation over powered her true wishes and kept her from being rational.

Ms. Gail continued her speech about the dos and don'ts that came with working in the kitchen, but Chloe didn't really pay attention. Instead, she secretly counted the minutes that passed, before they were released to their stations and the ginger would have a second chance at communicating with Beca.

The students were finally released to their stations and Ms. Gail let them have the rest of the class period to organize and get comfortable with their new work areas. This was Chloe's window of opportunity, and she wasn't about to let it go. She nervously bit her lip and looked at her partner.

"Beca..."

Beca kept her eyes on the stove knobs she found particularly interesting at the moment as she replied.

"Yes, Chloe?" She was offensively proper.

Gross.

Chloe sighed, but continued, "Listen, Beca. I've been wanting to talk to you about what happened at Billy's on Friday."

Beca occupied herself by opening their top cabinets as Chloe spoke. She knew how rude she was being, but the angry and bitter part of Beca kept it's hand clasped around her sad and hurt core, and withheld her true desires from being expressed.

"What's there to talk about?" The brunette placidly asked.

Chloe watched the track star blatantly ignore her and released a breathy chuckle in annoyance.

"Will you please stop and just look at me."

Beca huffed and bit the inside of her cheek, finally stopping and turning to stare directly into the redhead's light blue eyes.

"What, Chloe?" She snapped.

The cheerleader was taken aback by Beca's attack, but knew it was only coming from a place of hurt.

"Bec, please don't be mad at me. I–" Before she could continue, Beca already had a response.

"I'm not mad at you," she shrugged.

Chloe dropped her shoulders, "Yes you are."

The track star put on a smile that was undeniably bogus, "Why would I be mad?" Beca knew she was being a little immature, but she couldn't help it. All of her insecurities rebuilt the parts of her walls that Chloe had some how managed to tear down.

After Chloe just stood there, searching the smaller girl's eyes for the Beca she knew a few days ago, the track star grew tired of their staring contest and went back to checking out all of their supplies and tools at their station.

Chloe sighed in defeat. She wasn't going to get anywhere with Beca any time soon, and she accepted that. What she didn't accept was this being it for them. Chloe was determined to get through to Beca and fix any part of the brunette she had regrettably broken. Chloe Beale was no quitter.

Beca had officially made the track team. She was thrilled when she read the selected list of students Monday afternoon and internally celebrated when she found her name typed out in black ink with the rest of the chosen runners. She had pulled out her phone to text her new friends about the exciting news, and frowned when she found Chloe's name amongst her recent text messages. Chloe had been there to support her and Beca felt her chest ache when she realized how unfortunate their relationship had rapidly become.

As the week progressed, the track star and the cheerleader fell into a defective routine. Both girls would wake up bright and early every morning. Chloe would wait on the track for Beca to appear before ultimately giving up and continuing with her run, while the brunette secretly watched her from afar, longing to speak to her and to apologize for her lousy attitude, but never finding the courage to actually do it. Cooking class, which once started out as a fun and entertaining period, now became an awkward and sometimes just plain quiet class between the two.

Practices became intense. Beca would be forced to pass the practicing cheerleaders as she would run by, but each time she did, she would compel her eyes to stay glued onto the track in front of her. Sometimes the brunette would catch a glimpse of Tom practicing with his football team on the field. It would sometimes be a little too overwhelming for Beca, but the tension was actually some what beneficial. It drove her to push her running limits, and got her that much closer to beating out Luke.

But the hardest part of it all was when Beca and Chloe would find themselves in the locker room showers at the same time. Cheer practice ended around the same time track did, and every time Chloe would catch Beca's dark, steel eyes, the brunette would quickly turn away and pretend her stomach didn't flip every time she looked at the redhead's sweet face.

As the days went on, Beca never let off of her snide comments, but Chloe would continue to try her absolute best to lighten the mood between her and Beca and fought hard to bring back the little brunette she had grown attached to. But Beca would keep their conversations short, only speaking to the redhead if she really needed to, and she would only reply to her if the ginger had a legitimate question. Other than those bleak interactions, it was almost as if they barely acquaintances. Acquaintances who secretly yearned for the other, but withheld themselves for no other reason than to simply torture themselves.

Especially, Beca.

The brunette's childish antics would occasionally dwindle on their own, but a few times during the week, Beca had seen Chloe and Tom together, and the fire within her would instantly refuel and continue to burn in her heart. Little did she know, Chloe was pushing her boyfriend further and further away, denying him anytime he was affectionate, and the redhead would think about nothing other than the stubborn track star when she was with him. Chloe had to do something about it. She couldn't carry on that way. It wasn't right.

Chloe found her own fire brewing within her, however, as she grew more frustrated with Beca's immature demeanor. And when Friday eventually came around, the redhead decided that enough was enough. She finally took charge of her chaotic and confusing emotions and made decisions that had been long over due. All that was left was for Beca to hear her out, wether the brunette liked it or not. It needed to be done. Especially after what Chloe finally did. And now the only challenge left was for the cheerleader to figure out the perfect time and place to confront Beca.

"I've always hated this part of practice." Jesse panted, as he surprisingly managed to maintain his speed next to Beca, while the team ran their three miles around the school during practice.

Beca grinned, "What's the matter, Swanson?" she breathed, "These slopes kicking your ass?" Even though Beca clearly had better endurance than the suffering boy next to her, the track star had to admit having to run three miles up and down the streets around their school was exhausting. Still, watching her new neighbor struggle to keep up with her was definitely humorous.

The dying boy huffed, "No!" Beca laughed in response.

They ran back to the track as they finished their last mile, and Beca wasn't sure when, but at some point she lost Jesse and he fell behind with the rest of the team. With one hour left of practice, the teammates split off into different groups and focused on their chosen events. Beca had signed up for the one hundred meter dash, the four hundred meter dash, hurdles and the one mile run. She was glad the cheerleaders didn't have practice on Fridays, it was much easier to focus without Chloe there as a distraction.

During the actual track meets, boys and girls are separated and only compete against their own gender. However, that didn't matter during practices and Beca took the opportunity to study her current nemesis, Luke. It was really unfair how naturally talented he was at running. It took Beca years of hard work and dedication for her to get where she currently was. And even after all at of that, when it came to Luke, she still wasn't good enough. But that didn't discourage her, no. His threatening skills did nothing but nourish Beca's competitive side. She was determined to beat him one day. But for now, the brunette would just watch.

When Luke came back around from running the hurdles, he caught Beca starring and approached the smaller girl with a smirk.

"Aww, don't worry, Becky." He playfully grabbed her tiny chin with his thumb and pointer finger, "Maybe one day you'll be able to run like the big kids," he mocked.

Beca scoffed and snapped her head out of his grasp. She was tough and certainly not intimidated by the handsome Englishman. Beca crossed her arms, and flashed him a smug grin as she shook her head.

"I can't wait to kick your ass."

The blonde boy snickered, "Keep dreaming, kiddo." Luke walked away and Beca's company was replaced by Jesse.

"I think he might like you." Jesse said, tilting his head to the side like a puppy who just heard his owner make a funny sound, as he watched Luke approach the water fountain.

Beca chuckled and uncrossed her arms, "Yeah, he's not really my type."

Jesse put his hands on his lower back and stretched backwards as he spoke, "Oh, that's right! You like em' hot, cheery and ginger." He knew he would be in trouble for that comment, but the look on Beca's face was worth it.

That is, until the fiery brunette powerfully hit him in the stomach.

"Ugh!" Jesse yelped at the sudden pain and hunched over. After adjusting, he lifted his head to look at Beca. "You're mean."

Beca simply shrugged, "Serves you right."

Jesse lightly chuckled and stood back up. "Don't be mad at me just because I speak the truth!" He had a feeling Beca would lunge at him again and he managed to jump out of the way when she did just that.

"Woo! Reflexes!" He hollered, hopping back and forth while holding his hands out in a karate position. Beca couldn't help but laugh.

"You're such a dork."

Practice finally ended and the team split off in different directions. Beca and Jesse were making their way to the locker rooms when Luke called from behind.

"Hey, Becky!"

Beca rolled her eyes and turned around, "My name is Beca, Luke."

"Actually it's Becaw." Beca glared at the smiling idiot next to her and Jesse got the hint to keep his mouth shut.

"Wanna race?" Luke asked.

Beca raised a brow, "Right now?"

"Yeah, why not? You said you couldn't wait to kick my ass, so let's have it then." He stepped closer, "One lap. Just you and me."

Beca wasn't prepared for this. Yes she wanted a chance to race the cocky boy, but she hadn't meant anytime soon. She knew she still needed to work on herself if she was ever going to beat him. But now hear he was, challenging her. And Beca never backed down from a challenge, even if she knew she would probably lose.

"Alright." She shrugged, "Let's go."

Luke smirked and the three of them made their way to one side of the track. Beca and Luke took their positions in neighboring lanes, while Jesse was assigned with starting the race.

"You got this, Beca." Her neighbor encouraged.

Beca smiled but didn't reply. She had to keep her focus on the task at hand.

"You guys ready?" Jesse asked. Both competitors nodded.

"Alright. On you're mark..." Beca closed her eyes. "Get set..." She inhaled a deep breath and could hear her heart pounding in her ears. "Go!" Beca snapped her eyes open and instantly took off.

She ran like her life depended on it and moved as fast as she possibly could. The doubt of victory fiddled in her mind, but she had to at least try. Beca ran and ran, and hadn't seen Luke pass her until they reach the forsaken last turn that always seemed to be her downfall when it came to four hundred meter sprints. Her tired legs pushed to finish the last bit of distance she had left, but she crossed the finish line, last.

"Awh." Jesse murmured. He really wanted to see his new friend win, but unfortunately, she lost.

Luke grinned as he came up to Beca, who was holding onto her knees as she caught her breath.

"Nice try, kiddo."

Beca was too tired to replied and just annoyingly glared up at the boy instead. Luke patted her head and walked away.

"Bye, Becky!"

Jesse approached his friend and gently rubbed her back.

"Hey, that was amazing effort you put out there. You were so close behind him, it's ridiculous." He tried to cheer her up, but wasn't sure if it actually worked. Beca stood up and huffed.

"I still lost."

"Yeah, but you are going to beat him one day. I know it." His reassuring smile calmed the disappointed brunette and Beca smiled back in gratitude.

"Thanks, Jesse."

"Anytime," he grinned. "Alright, let's get out of here." They headed for the locker rooms but Jesse stopped them before they split off to enter the different rooms. "Hey, wait. Are you going to Billy's tonight?"

Beca had a hand on the door and she shrugged, "I don't know. I hadn't planned on it." She remembered what had happened the last time she was there, but refused to let the memory ruin her future experiences. Especially since hanging out at Billy's was such a big thing at this school. "Are you going?" Beca asked.

"Well I wasn't planning on it either, but if you wanna go I can take us."

Beca thought about it and decided she deserved a fun night out.

"Yeah, sure."

Jesse grinned, "Okay, cool! Well after you finish getting changed just meet me at my car. It's in the garage again. I'll take us home so we can get cleaned up and then we'll go. Sound good?"

Beca smiled and nodded once, "Sounds good."

They finished their conversation and entered the locker rooms. As Beca made her way to her locker, she noted that it was quieter than usual and figured the rest of the girls must have already gone home. She sighed in exhaustion as she opened her locker. Practice was brutal as usual, but the extra race she had with Luke took most of the energy she usually had left after practices. Beca removed her shirt and was left in her black sports bra when she suddenly heard a recognizable voice behind her.

"Beca."

Startled, the brunette yelped and quickly turned around.

"Chloe!? What the hell, dude?"

The redhead jumped a bit too at Beca's abrupt loudness and slightly brought her hands up.

"Sorry! I didn't mean to scare you."

Beca grunted. She didn't need this kind of excitement after such a harsh practice.

"What do you want?" Beca didn't mean to sound so bitter, but it came out that way.

"We need to talk." Chloe said, then bit her lip when her light eyes uncontrollably looked down at the skin Beca was exposing. It was the closest Chloe had ever been to a shirtless Beca, and the redhead couldn't help but admire the smaller girl's toned stomach.

Beca looked down to meet her gaze and felt her face get hot when she finally realized her awkward predicament.

"Shit." Beca muttered and quickly put her shirt on, looking back up at Chloe when she finished. "I already told you, there's nothing to talk about." Beca turned her back on the cheerleader and attempted to grab her other things, but Chloe unexpectedly slammed her locker door shut, and kept her hand firm against the cold metal. Beca widened her eyes in shock and rapidly turned back around to face the ginger.

"No, Beca! I'm tired of you pretending like there's nothing wrong between us and acting like I don't even exist. That's not fair!"

Beca scoffed, "Not fair? You know what's not fair?"

"What?" Chloe shot back, glaring hard into the track star's dark eyes.

Beca opened her mouth to shout back, but her mind quickly stepped in and stopped her before she let anything slip. She shut her mouth closed and nervously bit the inside of her cheek, refusing to answer the question.

Chloe searched her eyes, waiting for an answer. She briefly noticed how close they were, but pushed her anxious nerves aside.

"Well?" Chloe filled the silent room with volume again. "What's not fair, Beca?"

Beca's mind reeled as she battled against herself. Why was it so hard to just be honest with Chloe?

Just tell her, Beca!

Beca furrowed her brow in frustration, "Forget it." She started to moved away from Chloe, but the redhead wasn't having it. This conversation was not going to end there.

Chloe stopped the brunette in her tracks by putting her other hand up and blocking the younger girl's path. Beca looked at her, annoyed. "What's your problem?"

Chloe found herself getting angry, "What's your problem? Why are you so mad at me?"

Beca pushed Chloe's arms down and felt her heart increase in pace as her adrenaline elevated.

"I already told you I'm not mad at you!"

"Well you're mad about something, I'm not stupid and I'm not leaving you alone until you tell me." The locker room echoed with their loud argument and growing pants, and the temperature rose along with their anger. "Why won't you just talk to me?!"

Chloe had a very good question. Why wouldn't Beca just talk to her? Beca desperately wanted to, but was struggling to actually do it. The track star stubbornly remained silent and Chloe had enough.

"I know you're upset about Tom."

Beca glared at her, "What?" She couldn't let herself get busted and chose to sarcastically laugh it off. "Yeah right."

"Okay, then what is it?" Chloe questioned.

Beca huffed in annoyance and dropped her head back onto her locker, "What is what, Chloe? I don't have time for this, Jesse is waiting for me." Beca attempted to leave once more, but was stopped yet again by the cheerleader.

"No, Beca! I need to know why you're so mad at me! I wanna fix this!" Her comment triggered an old wound within Beca and the brunette gritted her teeth.

"Why do you care anyway? Huh? Why is this so important to you?"

Chloe decided not to match Beca's elevation in emotion and calmed herself down a bit before replying.

"Because, Beca–" This was it. She had to tell her. "I-I care about you."

The words made Beca's heart skip a beat, but she couldn't lower her guard. Beca had heard this before.

The brunette tittered, "You care about me? Yeah, okay."

Her retort pulled at Chloe's heart and the redhead furrowed her brow, hurt.

"What? You don't believe me?" Her voice slightly shook as she held back the tears that were begging to be released.

"No! I don't! You're not the first person I've heard this from, Chloe! Now why don't you just leave me alone and go hold hands with your boyfriend instead."

There it was.

Beca shoved her way away passed Chloe and started walking towards the door.

"So this is about Tom!" Chloe challenged, finally breaking through Beca's titanium walls.

The brunette instantly turned around with glossy eyes, and her brain couldn't control her words any longer.

"Of course it's about Tom, Chloe! I mean what the fuck? You flirted with me since the moment you met me and you made me feel like there was actually something there between us. Then a few days later I find out you have a boyfriend that you didn't even tell me about!" A tear fell from Beca's left eye and Chloe felt her stomach knot knowing she was the cause of the brunette's pain. "Why'd you do it, huh? Was I just some fun little game you played around with just for hell of it?"

Chloe gaped, "No, Beca!" She moved towards the crying girl, "No, oh my God, that wasn't it at all!"

Beca hesitated and her whole aura suddenly changed.

"Then why did you flirt with me when you knew you had boyfriend?" It was the quietest Beca had spoken the entire time, and Chloe felt the heavy weight of guilt press down upon her. She looked down at her feet and shook her head.

"I don't know. I–" It was hard for her to explain what she didn't fully understand to begin with, but she had to try. She looked back up at Beca, resisting the urge to wipe the tears that rolled down her reddened cheeks. "I didn't mean to. I just– It just sort of happened..." Chloe slowly moved forward until she was only a few inches away from the smaller brunette and was happy when Beca didn't move away. "I like you, Beca." The track star didn't move and just continued staring into her crystal eyes. "Like, really like you."

Beca wanted nothing more than to believe the genuine redhead, but Beca's past raced through her mind, and her vision somewhat blurred when her eyes swelled with more tears. Her bottom lip quivered between her teeth and she looked up to meet Chloe's gaze.

"I don't believe you." Beca quickly turned away before another tear could fall, but she was surprised when she suddenly felt Chloe grip onto her shoulders and swiftly spin her back around.

And then, time stood still.

It happened so quickly that it took Beca a few moments to really process the tingling sensation rushing throughout her body. Chloe's soft lips were planted perfectly against hers and Beca's initial shock turned into pure bliss, and the rest of the world melted away. The brunette slowly shut her eyes and released an audible sigh as she lost the little bit of self control she had left.

Beca felt soft lips move against hers and the cheerleader added a little more pressure to the kiss when she gently ran her hand up the back of Beca's neck and tenderly pulled her closer. Beca hadn't kissed many people before Chloe, but something about the redhead was intoxicating and made Beca's entire body feel weightless.

The kiss ended all too soon when Chloe was the first pull back. Beca's eyes fluttered open and was greeted with a dazzling smile and a warm hand on her cheek, as Chloe's thumb wiped the last bit of tears that remained on Beca's face. A comfortable silence fell between them when no words needed be said. Chloe kept her hand on Beca's soft face as they continued to stare deeply into each other's eyes. Beca had never felt this way with anyone before and for the first time, the unfamiliar territory she discovered was nothing but pure delight.

Neither girl wanted the unexpected, yet beautiful moment to end, but Beca was brought back to reality, when she remembered a very crucial factor that made none of what just happened okay.

Chloe noticed the drop in Beca's expression.

"Beca?" She asked, worried. The redhead dropped her hand and moved back a bit, hoping she didn't just offend the brunette.

Beca furrowed her brow in concern, "What about Tom?" Chloe let out a soft breath of relief, confusing the track star. "What?" Beca asked.

A smile slowly spread across Chloe's lips, "I broke up with him."

Author's 2nd Note: ...yeah, so that happened. x)

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