"I don't understand you Beca, I really don't. You're acting way too sweet. I swear! I thought you were different than that. I thought you actually cared. Just stop playing with me." Chloe couldn't resist stating what was on her short crush. "Stop. If you don't like me, that's fine. That's whatever, but being a bitch is just lame. It's hurtful."

Ouch, I'm a bitch. Beca frowned to herself. "Chloe let me explain please. I swear, I'm not trying to hurt you. Why would I want to do that? You've only been sweet to me." The short girl took a deep breath and collected her thoughts. "Please understand, this was nothing against you. Yeah, that text meant something. It freaked me out, I didn't believe it was true. Then I felt bad Chloe. I felt like it was wrong for you to like me. I wasn't worth your time. I'm very cold-hearted and people tend not to like me that much. So I felt bad and after thinking about it, I wanted to be.." Beca paused trying to think of the right word to use. "...I wanted to be more open. I wanted to be more positive. I don't want you to hate me for it. I want you to understand, I'm not doing this to be mean. I'm doing it because it feels wrong being less open. I'm sorry you feel like I was just playing you, but I promise that's not what it is. I know it probably still sounds just as bad, but it wasn't supposed to be."

Chloe watched as her short friend explained herself. The words kind of made sense, but at the same time it didn't. "Beca that's the dumbest thing I have ever heard. You can't just think that being, what, more touchy is better. It's not. In fact, it's pretty lame. I mean, what the hell is the point? Why would that make me want to like you any more? It's just downright annoying. I already like you. I like you for who you are not what you think you should be. Because frankly, I like you better when you're not doing that. At least then I could tell you were being you. Now you're just acting to fit a role of someone you aren't. It's ugly. I don't need you to hold my hand, or wink, or anything like that to show me that you care about me. Got it? It may be cool for a minute, but it is confusing. Sure, I think it's awesome that you would hold my hand, but not like that. Not because you think you should, but because you want to. Clearly you don't want you. You just think you should. So stop it Beca. Until you actually want to be more open as you put it. You changing yourself, even a little bit for this is just insulting." Actually, that was all Chloe wanted. She wanted Beca to be more open to her, but it still seemed wrong.

Aubrey stood about ten feet away from the two girls. She had missed the first part of the conversation due to getting Midnight's litterbox and food dish all set up. She only caught Chloe's last speech. "You two are so weird, I swear. Just kiss and make up why don't you?" She walked closer, with Midnight in her armed and glowered. "Seriously, whatever the problem is, you two should just work it out. It cannot be anything so bad that you two can't find a way around it." The blonde was about to add something else, but her voice failed her. For a moment she panicked thinking Chloe opened up about the Stacie situation, but then she remembered what she heard the redhead saying, so she knew it wasn't that. "It can't be that bad, right?"

Beca took the lead on this one. "No, it isn't. It's my fault for acting so stupid, Chloe has her right to feel disappointed." She raised her hand in the air and continued. "I didn't mean anything by it Chloe, I just feel wrong being like this. But I'll stop. I don't want to be a bitch to you, or make you feel like I'm being a bitch because of that text. I'm not going to toy with you. I'm not going to be like her. I refuse to be like that monster. Toying with people's emotions. I get it. I get it sucks." The brunette put her hands down and looked to her feet. "I should probably go now…"

"You can't leave, remember? I have to drive you. Besides, you have a promise to uphold." Chloe pushed the argument aside and started with a new conversation. She didn't want to think about it anymore, Beca was clearly ashamed of what she did. "You need to help me study. Don't think you are going to get out of it that easy. And I won't let you get rid of me." The ginger winked at Beca. Just because the brunette couldn't do it, didn't mean Chloe couldn't either. "I have two days until this test and I will not accept failing." She turned around and started walking. "I'll be right back, I have to go get my books." With that, Chloe disappeared.

Midnight jumped out of Aubrey's hand and started scratching Beca's pants. "If you break a promise, you might just die from a kitten. How are we supposed to explain that to Jesse?" The blonde laughed and grabbed the kitten. A meow coming from the box next to Beca made Aubrey shake her head. "Let her out of her box. What's your cat's name again?"

"Nothing yet." Beca bend down and pulled her green eyed calico from the pet carrier. "It was Gem, but I'm not a fan of that name." The kitten started purring. "It's just doesn't fit. It's too bland. I just haven't figured out what to choose yet."

"Beca, what did you do to get Chloe upset? What were you faking? Because whatever it was, please stop. I don't like seeing her in pain, or her being upset. And if you cause her any more pain than you already have, I will hunt you down. If you think that's a joke, try me. She is my best friend and so far, I'm really not fond of you. Generally my first impression of someone is good. So go ahead. Prove me wrong, for Chloe's sake. I still don't think you're good for her though. Why she likes you is just pathetic. But at least you aren't the worst option. Although, I think a few of your friends would be better. And actually are better." Aubrey shook her head is disappointment. "But I promised Chloe I'd play nice, so what do you want for dinner?"

Beca kept her mouth closed and thought hard. Not about food, but about what Aubrey said. The way she put emphasis on the word 'friends'. "What do you mean my friends? You only know Jesse."

"Do I?" Aubrey gave a dark grin and turned away from Beca. "So Chinese food, right?" The blonde pulled her phone out and placed Midnight on the floor. She dialed a number and without asking anyone, placed an order over the phone. As she was hanging up the phone, Chloe reappeared with her books and a backpack. "I have to go in twenty minutes to pick up dinner. We decided on Chinese, I got you some soup and orange chicken. Aubrey shoot a glance at Beca while she spot to Chloe. "Any of course I got some dumplings. And rice. And everything it seems, we should really cut back on what we get when we go, we get a lot."

"Thanks Aubrey, you're the best. You know me so well." Chloe chuckled a little and went to find a seat on the black leather couch. "Come on Beca." She patted the open spot to her left. "Let's start already."

The shortest of the three girls took the spot next to Chloe and grabbed out of the books. "Let's see…" Beca started flipping through the textbook until she found something worth asking. "What are the three types of fire attack? If you say offensive or defensive, you're fired. I hope you know that." Even though she laughed, it was a mistake Beca had made when she was in training. She never really did live it down either, Jesse always reminded her about it when they went off for a call. He would generally call out football plays, and chant out the imaginary score along with 'defense'. Typically he found himself the punchline of the joke, with a bruise to prove it. If Beca couldn't live it down, the boy couldn't either. He had to endure the pain too.

"Let's see...direct and indirect…" Chloe started listing, but for some reason drew a blank at the third type. "Direct…" The redhead was struggling. "It's on the tip of my tongue I swear." She started thinking harder until the lightbulb finally lit up in her head. "Combination. Wow, why was that so hard?" Chloe shook her head, frustrated in herself. "I better pass this test."

"You go it right, it just took a moment. You won't get penalized for thinking. It's all multiple choice, so you'll have the options. The answer is there, you just have to find it. Just think of it that way. There are one hundred and fifty questions. That's forty five questions you can get wrong." Beca was trying to calm Chloe down, it was just difficult. "Just don't stress. I'm sure you'll do fine. So stop thinking you can't do it." She flipped through the book again until finding another test worthy question. "What is a class K fire extinguisher used for?"

"Grease fires, like cooking oils… That is easy." Chloe's face lit up, nailing that question with no sweat. "Class D is metals, C is like.. electronics, B is gas, and A is normal. Like paper, or plastic. The more general stuff I guess is a way to put that. I can't really explain it all too great. But a carbon dioxide fire extinguisher can be used on class B or C fires." Chloe felt like an expert on fire extinguishers, she spent more time studying those than she did anything else.

"See, you can do this. You got that down." Beca thought hard for her next question, then she remembered what Chloe had said the previous night. "What is a reducer?" It was only a joke, but the redhead hadn't caught out. She was going to answer, but Beca cut her off. "You don't need to answer that one, it was only a joke. You said you didn't want to fail for not knowing what a reducer is." The brunette thought she was witty. "I mean, it's not that hard, it is in the name. Reducer. Using context clue, you can figure that one out. If not, we aren't friends."

Chloe giggled, realizing what Beca meant. "I might have to get that one wrong. That is, if you promise that we can't be friends anymore." The bright eyed girl tried her best to tease the dark blue eyes. She didn't really think it worked because Beca knew she had Chloe and wouldn't be getting rid of her anytime soon. Even if the brunette could be so foolish at times. Besides, not being friends could just mean that they had to be girlfriends. They Beca could be protected by Stacie's desire to win the girl over again for whatever reason. But, what had the girl done to Beca anyway? Chloe never did get a full answer to that, she wasn't going to pry, but it would be nice to know the truth. It would put her mind at ease. Well maybe. Maybe it was better for Chloe not to know, depending on what happened, she really didn't need to know the details. That thought of Beca and Stacie doing something inappropriate made a shiver go down her spine. Even though she had no place to worry about such a thing. She knew just how seductive Stacie could be when she wanted something, or someone for that matter. Thoughts of things Chloe didn't want to see flooded her mind, and the ginger tried fighting them off the best she could.

"Uh, are you okay Chloe? You're just shaking your head like some maniac or something. I was just joking, we can still be friends…" Beca looked at the girl confused. Wow, I am just really messing Chloe up today. Beca felt bad for the entire day. She regretted it. Every part of it, except getting her nameless kitten. Hmmm, I still gotta name her, maybe Chloe could help… but we are studying. Maybe later. If she doesn't keep acting all weird. "You're such an oddball . I hope you understand and accept it, but if you don't, too bad. You're crazy."

Back to the real world, Chloe realized Beca's words were meant for her. "Fine, I can deal with that, but at least I can not break my hand hitting a wall." She smiled and poked the red cast. "Really Beca, I think you have anger problems, you should probably get that checked out." The redhead winked again and placed her hand on Beca's, who immediately pulled back. It brought Chloe back to reality. She just told Beca not to touch her unless she truly wanted to, and obviously she didn't want to. Chloe got the message loud and clear. Even though it was her fault, she still felt hurt by the brown haired girls actions.

However, Beca was freaking out in her mind. She was afraid it was some kind of trap and that she would get yelled at again if she didn't pull away. The warmth and softness of her friend's hand was actually very comforting, and she didn't want to pull away. She felt obligated to. Unfortunately. "Not a broken hand, a broken wrist." Beca corrected her friend. And a broken heart. "If I have anger problems, then it wouldn't be my wrist that would be hurting. It would be someone else's face. And arms...and legs. But I don't have anger problems, so only I'm the one hurting." Beca gave a half hearted smile. It was clearly forced.

Aubrey had been calmly been playing with Midnight and Beca's calico until she finally got sick of hearing what she could only describe as flirting. She got up and headed for the apartment door. "Okay, I'm done. I'm going to go get the food. You two stay here and study, if that's what you're going to call it." She put air quotes around study. "Goodbye." She opened the door and stormed out, slamming the door behind her.

Beca stared at the door for a bit before speaking up. "Well that was bizarre."

"No, that is Aubrey. She does that when she feels left out. She gets all upset and yeah. It's normal. In fact," Chloe looked at her watch, "it was a few days overdue. I'm surprised." She clapped for no one. "I'm proud of her." Beca nodded, still confused. "Anyway, quiz me some more." Chloe vigorously tapped the textbook with her finger. "Next question."

"Whose safety is most important?" Beca's tone went dark and serious. It was quite frightening actually. "This time I mean it, if you ever get this wrong, take a break, just give yourself some time to breath and relax. It isn't worth it."

"Your own. But what do you mean?" Chloe was getting confused. "I get it, your own safety is above all others, but why take a break?"

Beca started scratching at her cast and moan in annoyance. "Because, do you want to be the next gravestone? If you don't know your limits or see what your safety means, you just going to get hurt. Or get something else hurt. Do you really want to die over nothing? It's not worth it Chloe. Protect yourself. Got it? I don't want you to be my next call. Again. One time is enough. Just be careful." The warning seemed out of the blue, but it had good intentions. Beca was thinking about the other night, what had happened. She just wanted to make sure her red haired friend wouldn't do the same. No going into traffic. "I hope you know how to use rope." A random thought Beca thought was necessary to add.

The conversation ended there. Beca continued to quiz Chloe for the next half hour. It was only cut off because Aubrey was back with their food. It was getting pretty late and everyone was hungry. The three girls gathered into the kitchen to grab some food. Aubrey had gotten herself an egg roll and vegetable lo mein. The blonde had ordered Beca fried rice and chow mein, not a terrible choice. Especially considering the brunette had no choice in her food choice. So the three ate together, peacefully, there was no hair tearing out, no bloodshed, no screaming matches. It was just a nice quiet dinner. No one would be able to guess there was an argument before, and a disliking among the girls. In fact, Aubrey was sweet to Beca, she was polite and listened to that the girl had to say when she did speak the few words she had to. The lack of hate was due to the little interaction Beca had with Chloe. They spoke, but they weren't close, no one was flirting, so Aubrey didn't feel uncomfortable. It was a nice change of pace for them all. It was something that wouldn't last though. Something had been bugging Beca and she couldn't really get it off of her mind. No matter how hard she tried, it kept coming back. She had kept quiet about it during her study time, but it was really nagging her. the wheels in her mind started to slowly turn, and she was starting to get an answer, but as soon as it popped into her mind, she lost it. As dinner was finishing up, she finally got it. She was able to hold onto the thought without losing it.

She shot up from the table, making the two girls and cats jump. "I know what you meant!"

Beca pointed to Aubrey. "I get it now. You meant Stacie. You think she's a better choice! That she is a better choice. I get you now. Something happened. What the hell is it? I want to know now. Why would anyone in their right mind ever think Stacie is a good choice for anyone? Or are you just admitting to be in the wrong mind? I bet so. You're so screwed up Aubrey."

After kicking her blonde friend in the foot, Chloe stood up kind of hid her face. It was time to fess up. "It isn't all that crazy Beca. Aubrey isn't lying or out of her mind or anything, she's speaking from truth. I mean, she's wrong, but she's speaking the truth too." The ginger fought to find the right words. She was frustrated, not only in Aubrey, but herself. She should have told Beca sooner, now she facing the chance of losing the brunette if she doesn't handle the news and explanation that well. Chloe wasn't prepared for this either. She told Aubrey she wasn't ready to tell Bea yet, why couldn't Aubrey respect that? Even if she didn't like the shortie, she should at least respect what her best friend had to say. "It's a long story, there is a lot of explaining, and I know you won't like it, I'm sure you won't." There was a long silence as Chloe tried to work up the courage to say what she had to, she was just so ashamed of what she we going to say. "Beca, I used to date Stacie."

Okay, I'm just going to explain. I know I said this chapter would be longer, but I ended up breaking it into two parts, it felt like it would flow better that way. The second part is going to mostly a flashback so I didn't want to have this long chapter like that. In my opinion, it just didn't seem to flow right. Besides, now there is a pre warning of the flashback. So I'm sorry this isn't a super long chapter, and I'm sorry it took a week to post, but I will try my best to finish the next chapter up tomorrow. I started it up, it was originally in this chapter, but then it was cut out. So yeah, I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter regardless.