For as long as Chloe had lived with her best friend, Friday nights had always been reserved for relaxing on the couch with a movie and healthy dinner, winding down from the week. Tonight though, the girls just had too much to talk about and so the screen stayed blank and Aubrey, who seemed to be in a decidedly good mood, (which was surprising considering the chaos at Bellas at the moment) had ordered them pizza.

Their first week as new business owners had definitely been successful, but also exhausting, so even though it was only 7 in the evening Chloe didn't know how much longer she would be able to stay awake. For now at least it seemed she didn't much of a choice, because Aubrey just would not let the subject of Chloe's phone call yesterday with Beca drop.

"So she was jealous?" Aubrey persisted, as she reached for another slice of vegetarian pizza.

"I've already told you everything she said," Chloe sighed, rolling her eyes. "But yeah, she definitely didn't like that I kissed Brad or whatever his name was."

"Tom." Aubrey corrected.

"Whatever." Chloe shrugged nonchalantly.

"Well it's obvious that my plan worked, so you can thank me anytime now."

"Thank you?" Chloe replied in disbelief, "Aubrey all you did was send her across the country!"

"But at least you know for sure now that she definitely likes you! How was I meant to know she was going to freak out like that? She's got some serious issues."

"She doesn't have 'issues'. She told me she's never been in a proper relationship before," Chloe explained. "At least not for more than a few months. I did kind of just jump right in. She doesn't want to get hurt."

The blonde scoffed. "You're not going to hurt her Chlo."
"But I already did." Chloe pointed out sadly.

Aubrey shifted uncomfortably, and stood up to take the empty pizza boxes to the kitchen.

"That may have been more my fault than yours." She admitted guiltily.

Chloe nearly fell off the seat with shock. Aubrey absolutely hated being wrong, and would argue against an accusation of a mistake on her part until she was blue in the face. Once, Chloe had put left-over spaghetti bolognese in the fridge, intending to take it for lunch to work the next day, only to wake up and find the tub gone. When she had asked the blonde that night if she knew what had happened to it, Aubrey swore she had no idea and suggested that perhaps the neighbours had snuck into the apartment in the middle of the night and stole it after being overcome by the delicious aroma of the meal.

Chloe never did tell her that she still had a glob of orange sauce on her chin.

"It's ok Bree." Chloe smiled, appreciating the comment. "Hey, any luck finding a new DJ yet?"

There was no response from the blonde for a minute, who was busy fixing herself a bowl of yogurt.

"Actually, I've been thinking about this for a couple of days and I've had a better idea," Aubrey said slowly, walking back over and settling on the couch next to her best friend, watching her face carefully. "I don't want to get a new DJ."

"You don't?"

"No. I think you should go and get ours back. As much as I can't stand her, her sets were great, John and Gail loved her, and so did the crowd. We're not going to get anywhere without her."

Chloe couldn't believe her ears, "So you want me to go to LA? When? What about work?"

"If I call my father I could easily organise to get you on a plane by tomorrow morning. Besides, I need the hot manager Chloe back, not this heart-broken mess. You haven't been able to concentrate properly at work ever since Beca left anyway Chlo. You bring Beca home and I'll have solved two problems at once. Three if you count you being reunited with your lady-friend, which I don't."

"And if she doesn't want to come home with me?" Chloe asked quietly.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and huffed. "Honestly Chloe, she looks at you like the sun shines out of your ass, and any idiot can see that you're head over heels for that wretched girl, so if you aren't going to go after her then so help me I will pick you up and drag you all the way to LA myself!"

Chloe laughed. "Ok, ok. Yes of course I'll go, even though it's a crazy idea. But what are we going to do? If we ask Jesse for his address Beca might find out I'm coming, and just leave again."

"One step ahead of you," Aubrey smiled wickedly, "Or several steps actually. This is where he's staying at the moment." She took a slip of paper out of her pocket and pushed it across the bench to Chloe. Chloe picked it up and read it in confusion.

"I don't understand, how did you get this?"

The blonde's knowing smile widened as it always did when she knew about some particularly juicy gossip Chloe didn't. "Ok so you're not going to believe this, but Fat Amy's dating Bumper- ("WHAT?!" "I know right, it's weird") and apparently he told her that his best friend is doing work in LA as a limo driver, and is ferrying around Hollywood's newest star – guess who - Jesse Swanson. She was pestering me for a pay rise because of her "famous connections.""

"So she knew Jesse's address?"

"Not exactly. She knew the name of the driver, so all I did was give that to Lilly and she hacked his phone and found the address on there. Ta da!" Aubery sat back looking supremely proud of herself. Chloe, however, was less so.

"You hacked his phone? Are you aware that's ILLEGAL?"

"Desperate times call for desperate measures." Aubrey shrugged.

"Oh my God, you're unbelievable," Chloe laughed as she shook her head. "You're actually serious about this?"

Aubrey nodded, looking the redhead dead in the eye. "Dixie Chicks serious."

And so it was that Chloe found herself stumbling towards Aubrey's car the next morning before the sky was even light, with the blonde running back and forwards around her, triple-checking that they had everything packed.

"You've still got your ticket right?" Aubrey asked as she ushered her yawning friend into the passenger seat.

"Yes Bree." Chloe mumbled, closing her eyes.

"Good, good." The blonde reached across Chloe's lap to click the redhead's seatbelt in and sighed. "C'mon Chlo, I know you're not a morning person but honestly this is like looking after a child."

"It's the middle of the night." Chloe grumbled.
"It's 5:30 in the morning. Have you got the address written down?"

"On my phone."

"Have you got your phone?"

"Yes Aubrey, I have my phone." Chloe groaned through gritted teeth, "Can we please just go?"

"Right yes let's go." The blonde closed Chloe's door and ran around to the driver's side. "Ok, we're going! I just hope we've remembered everything. You've got your ticket right?"

One cancelled flight, a small crisis ("SHIT I forgot my toothbrush! Can you smell egg?" "Your breath is fine just buy one when you get there.") and a four hour plane trip later and Chloe was in a taxi watching out the window as the streets of Los Angeles travelled past, on the way to the address Aubrey had given her.

The closer she was to seeing Beca again for the first time in over a week, the more excited she became and equally, the more her nerves rose. No matter how confident Aubrey was that Beca would want to see her, Chloe was pretty sure that most people who ran away from someone didn't want that someone to then come chasing after them and turn up on their doorstep unannounced. Then again, it was become increasingly clear to her that Beca wasn't like most people. Which was leaving Chloe stumped.

"This is it hun." The taxi driver drawled, as they came to a stop outside an apartment building that looked pretty much identicall to the several other apartment buildings it was squished in between. Chloe thanked her and paid, and then stepped out of the car and crossed the sidewalk to head into the apartment foyer. It was only when she pushed the doors open and came to a stop in front of the elevator that she realised with a sinking feeling she had no idea which floor Beca and Jesse's apartment was on.

"Shit." She muttered to herself and examined the sign next to the elevator, which showed the building had 11 levels. Since Beca had lost her phone, there was no way of knowing if she was already inside, or if not, when she would be coming home.

Dropping her bag on the floor against the wall, Chloe was just about to sink into the chair next to it to wait when she saw someone push the foyer door open and stride inside, attention fully on the phone in his hand. He was a young guy, no older than early 20s, with short brown hair and a swagger in his step. He headed straight for the elevator without looking up and didn't notice Chloe standing by the wall quietly. "Excuse me," Chloe said quickly, stepping forward, "I'm looking for someone who lives here, Beca Mitchell?"

At her words the man swung around and regarded her in surprise. She watched as his eyes flicked from the red hair hanging around her shoulders to the small travel bag against the wall behind her, and his eyebrows knitted slightly.

"Even if I did know her, what makes you think I'd tell you anything?" He asked after a second of consideration, frowning in suspicion.

Chloe took a step backwards, her heart rate quickening in panic. Being kicked out of the building if this guy called security thinking she was a stalker or a paparazzi was definitely not going to help her find Beca.

"I'm a friend," She promised, "My name's -"

"Chloe," The man finished for her, and Chloe's mouth dropped open. A cheeky grin spread across the young man's face. "I'm Jesse. Nice to properly meet you."

"Oh my God! Jesse? You scared me!"

"Sorry." Jesse laughed easily, "Just testing out my acting skills. The red hair's a real giveaway."

Now that he was speaking more normally Chloe realised she did recognise his voice from their phone call the other day, and cursed herself for falling for his act so easily.

"So, um, is Beca home?" She asked, trying to keep her voice casual as she picked up her bag.

"I'm not sure, I've been at work all day (Chloe checked her watch and to her surprise found it was already 4 in the afternoon). But unless she's out at work she'll be here; she's not much of a social butterfly. Come on, I'll take you up."

"Thanks." Chloe smiled gratefully.

Jesse pressed the button for the elevator and they stepped inside, where he leant casually against the wall and fixed his gaze on her once more. "So when did you get here? Beca never even told me you were visiting."

"She… doesn't know." Chloe admitted.

"Oh, a surprise visit, I see." Jesse smiled and nodded. The elevator stopped and opened on the 11th floor. "This is us."

Chloe followed the boy to apartment 113, her heart rate quickening as they approached. Jesse swiped a card key next to the door handle and pushed the door open.

"Bec? There's someone here to see you!" He called out. Chloe walked inside and stood awkwardly just inside as Jesse let it swing shut behind them and crossed the room to push open a bedroom door. "Becca?"

There was no response, and when the boy poked his head into the bathroom he found it empty as well.

"She's not here sorry Chloe." Jesse said apologetically, and Chloe's heart sunk a little. He came back into the kitchen area and flicked the kettle on. "But it's getting pretty late so she should be home any minute. Have a seat while you wait, can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"

"Coffee would be great." Chloe replied gratefully.

"Coming right up!"

Jesse pulled out a small coffee machine from under the counter and there was an awkward silence as they both pondered what you could say to someone you'd just met in a situation like this. The small room didn't offer much inspiration Chloe thought, as you could hardly tell it had been lived in. It was obvious Jesse and Beca had both left most of their possessions at home, as the only objects in the living area were a few newspapers and a huge stack of DVDs in the corner, next to a TV.

"That's a lot of DVDs." Chloe commented lamely.

"Yeah," Jesse smiled, giving the coffee he was preparing a quick swirl with a teaspoon. "I just bought a few of my favourites from home."

"Can't you like, store them on a flash drive or something?"

"I probably could, but I like to collect them." Jesse shrugged. "Here's your coffee."

"Thanks" Chloe smiled and took a sip.

"So what brings you to LA?" Jesse asked, hoping up onto a barstool at the bench. "Last I heard you and Beca didn't exactly part on the best of terms."

"Aubrey sent me actually, she wants me to bring Beca back to keep playing as our DJ." Jesse frowned a little at this and Chloe hurried on, "That's not why I'm here though, not really. I missed her a lot, and there was a misunderstanding, which we talked about on the phone but I really want to clear it up, and I think that would be a lot easier to do in person."

Jesse nodded slowly. "Ok. Well what you need to understand about Beca is that she doesn't trust easily. Her parents went through a pretty nasty breakup when she was a teenager and she didn't take it well. She pushes people away so no one can get close to her."

"Except you." Chloe pointed out.

"And you." Jesse replied, "Beca doesn't have friends that she talks to more than once a week, let alone calls multiple times a day. She's more 'ok' with you than she has been with anyone else she's ever just met."

Before Chloe could respond to that, a loud insistent beeping sound suddenly started and Jesse jumped up from his seat.

"My alarm," Jesse explained, "It gets a.m and p.m confused sometimes, don't ask me how."

He disappeared into his room and left Chloe alone to wonder if it was really the clock or Jesse himself that was to blame for the muddled alarm times. The beeping stopped after only a few seconds and Chloe finished the last of her drink as she waited for the boy to come back. When his door remained closed for another minute, she put her mug in the sink and walked over to examine the pile of movies on the floor.

"Oh!" She exclaimed softly as she spotted one of her favourites, Love Actually, and crouched down, pulling it out from the pile.

"Chloe!" A voice said suddenly from right behind her and she screamed, toppling sideways onto a beanbag, to find Jesse standing above her with a strange expression on his face, a piece of paper clutched in his hand.

"Sorry to scare you." He apologised and crouched down next to her, "I just found this in my room. I think you'll want to read it."

Confused, Chloe shifted herself into a sitting position on the beanbag and took the paper Jesse was holding out to her and turned it over to find a short letter written in a messy scrawl.

Jesse,

I've decided to go back home. I asked Luke to give me this week off from working on the album. I've done most of the recording they need anyway. I'm not sure what I'm going to do after this week, but I'll figure it out in Atlanta.

Producing my own music is really, really awesome, but it's not worth giving up my shot with Chloe.

I think I made a mistake when I ran after she kissed me. I've always been ok with doing my own thing, but now that I've met Chloe being alone just feels like missing her. I don't know if she's going to give me another chance, but I have to try.

Donald will give me a lift to the airport.

Beca

"Oh my God." Breathed Chloe finally.

"I know!" Jesse's eyes were wide.

"You don't know what time she wrote this right?" Chloe jumped up from the floor as Jesse shook his head, "So she might not have left yet! We need to get to the airport right now!"
"Right." Jesse nodded quickly, slapping his pockets frantically to find his phone, "I'll ring Beca."

"You can't ring her, she's lost her phone."

"Shit, you're right!" Jesse panicked.

"What about this Donald guy?" Chloe asked, "Could you ring him?"

"Right! Yeah he's our driver, he'll be able to tell us how long ago she left."

While Jesse tried to unlock his phone as fast as possible and subsequently typed in the wrong passcode several times, Chloe hurried across the room to pick up her bags. A loud burst of noise caused her to jump in fright again as her phone suddenly started blaring. She pulled it from her pocket quickly and saw it was Aubrey calling, and so swiped to answer it.

"Aubrey? What's up? I can't talk for long I've got to-"

"Chloe?" The voice on the other end of the line interrupted.

"Beca!?"