A/N: Greetings! Thank you so much for your feedback. Enjoy some shenanigans in the form of death-defying trust exercises! And as always, drop a review if you liked it, or let me know how I can make it better!
It's after dark and Jesse's exhausted from a day of exploring the city's highlights, but Benji's laughing and there are definitely Bella voices coming from his laptop, piquing Jesse's interest as he saunters out onto the balcony.
As soon as he recognizes a campground background, he grins. "Dude, I want in on this," he says, feigning affront as he sits on the chair beside Benji, smacking his knee in mock reproach. "Beca refuses to send me any pics."
"Oh, no worries; Emily sent me vlogs."
"Oh my god," Jesse says, grin splitting his face from ear to ear. Making himself comfortable, he leans closer to watch the full-screen video on the laptop.
Benji scrolls back to the beginning and hits play.
"Hey, guys. We miss you! We're hiking out to our first team-building exercise this morning."
"It is five AM, how are you this cheerful," Beca grumbles, stalking past the screen as Emily keeps recording their hike in, camera held at arm's length and trained on her face. Benji seems utterly enraptured, letting out unconscious little laughs at everything she says. Jesse listens with interest to Emily's commentary about the campgrounds, grinning at the barked, "COME ON, LADIES, LET'S GO."
"So, um, yeah, that's Aubrey. She's really nice! When she isn't yelling," Emily adds. "Except Chloe says you probably already know who she is."
"Hey, Benji," Chloe interjects, on cue, blowing a playful kiss over Emily's shoulder. "We're toughening up your girl for you!"
Contrary to acting alarmed, Emily looks delighted at being included. "So, yeah," she says again, grinning, "we're having a really good time and I'll let you know when we're actually at the obstacle course. Okay, bye!"
Benji clicks another video.
At once, they're on the ground looking upward as the girls struggle to hoist Cynthia Rose onto a log about eight feet off the ground, Aubrey barking orders at their backs.
It's no small task, even with seven people, and there's a collective exhale when she's finally able to swing around and sit up, their relief short-lived when Aubrey tells them that they all have to get on the log.
There's a quick consultation on the ground as the remaining girls talk strategy, Cynthia Rose offering to hop down and help when Chloe and Stacie quickly dissuade her. At last, they settle on Fat Amy, Emily setting her camera down near a tree and letting them watch the fiasco as the remaining seven girls attempt to haul her onto the branch, Cynthia Rose tugging on her arms from above.
It takes eight minutes, six falls, and a spectacular amount of concerted effort, but at last they succeed as Fat Amy sits up on the log and exhales loudly.
"All right, bitches," she calls down, "who's next? Legacy?"
Emily hops into position, shrieking when they lift her and letting out a laugh as they easily propel her onto the branch.
"Oh my god, you guys," she says, scooting over to make room for the next person, holding the log tightly underneath her to keep her balance as the other girls look onward, thinking.
After a long moment the girls below attempt to push Stacie onto the branch, Fat Amy and Cynthia Rose doing their best to assist from above. Jessica and Ashley are more challenging, eventually using Chloe and Flo like a step ladder while Beca spots them. They repeat the effort with Chloe and Lilly for Flo, the girls above helping to haul her up when she's close enough.
Out of breath but not done yet, they strategize on how to get their last three players off the ground, Jesse resting his chin in his hands as they argue.
The branch above is crowded, now, and there's a fair amount of jockeying for space until at last they have room in the middle for the remaining Bellas, Chloe and Beca chatting animatedly as the other girls try to offer assistance from above. The Bellas are holding onto each other for balance, none of them wanting to take an eight foot spill as Aubrey stands off to the sidelines refereeing, waiting for the game to continue.
"This is so much fun," Emily chirps, sandwiched between Stacie and Cynthia Rose as Beca and Chloe argue below.
Just when it seems like they're stumped, Chloe asks, "Do you trust me?"
"Absolutely not."
There's a beat and then Beca's chanting, "Put me down, put me down, Chloe I swear to god," when she lifts her, Ashley and Jessica reaching down to grab either of her arms under the shoulder and lifting. Moving with them, Chloe pushes Beca up until she can swing her leg around the log.
At last, it's just Chloe and Lilly, eyeing the log in equal bemusement until Lilly crouches and, taking the cue, Chloe climbs on her back and stands, carefully hauling herself up with the rest of the girls.
"Isn't this fun?" she asks Beca, still steaming, as they're squished against each other, running a hand up her thigh just to make her scowl. When Beca wiggles too far to the left and almost she clings to Chloe's knees tightly, Flo squeezing her legs around Beca to keep her upright.
And then, without any fanfare, Lilly leaps up, grabs the log, swings around, and wins the game.
Getting down is another challenge entirely, Jesse braying with laughter by the time they're all back on solid ground, bruised and covered in dirt but otherwise none the worse for wear.
The vlogs include a break for lunch where Stacie shows off her guns and Flo does a hand stand for the camera, another log exercise that involves a three foot pit and absolutely nothing to grab but each other as they attempt to traverse to the opposite sides without touching the ground, and an interlude where Aubrey makes them practice scales.
"Your girlfriend's awesome," Jesse comments with a grin, enjoying the opportunity to vicariously live alongside the Bellas' camping experience.
Benji turns bright red and almost drops his laptop, stammering out quickly, "Oh, no, no, she's not my – that's not – we're not together."
Jesse hums in acquiescence, clapping Benji on the shoulder as he stands and saying, "Give me two minutes."
He returns with eighteen seconds to spare boasting two beers, flopping onto the chair and passing one can to Benji as he presses play on the next video.
"Hey, Benji," Emily greets brightly off-screen, taking a walk around the perimeter of the lake. "Aubrey gave us a two hour break and I thought it'd be nice to show you around. Also Beca threatened to castrate anyone who wakes her before the two hour break is over so I thought maybe this would be safer.
"I'm really nervous about World's," she admits, and Jesse almost feels like he's prying, closing his eyes and listening to her speak, pretending that he's walking alongside her as leaves crunch underfoot. "I'm also really nervous about what comes after World's. It seems so weird to think you guys are all graduating in two weeks."
Jesse opens his eyes as the reality of that statement sinks in, struggling to fathom how so much time passed in such a short period. It feels like he just started his first semester; how his senior year can be drawing to a close already baffles him. Still, he feels a warm sort of contentment settling in his belly, knowing that he won't be alone when he graduates, and he won't be left behind.
Unlike Emily, who gives voice to her concerns with a nervous laugh. "I know how fleeting this all is, but I still want to make it last. The Bellas are amazing. Being one is so much better than I ever thought it could be. It's weird to think that it's just – over after this. I guess it's hard actually living the best year of your life because you know it'll never be this good again."
For the first – but not the last – time, Jesse wants to hug her, hard.
"But, you know," she says, brightening as she stops along the trail and pans the camera slowly, "this is amazing. And I want to enjoy that. I know that not everyone is happy here, but I think deep down they're all really glad that we get to spend this time together.
"Or maybe I'm out of my mind and they're actually plotting to kill Aubrey in her sleep. Guess we'll have to wait and see."
She pauses for six long seconds over the lake before tuning out, Benji wordlessly scrolling to the next video and clicking it.
It's brief, but Jesse grins at the sight. Inside the tent, there's Beca, snoring softly into Chloe's shirt while Chloe sleeps peacefully on her back, one hand buried in Beca's hair. He's rarely seen them both so at ease with each other, but he's grateful for the insight, relieved to know that in spite of the increasingly exasperated comments from Beca about Chloe's behavior, the bond between them hasn't been broken.
Or, at the very least, hasn't affected them so deeply that it can invade their sleep.
Emily lets them watch for a few moments, maybe appeasing Jesse, maybe simply enjoying the sight of their fearless leaders clocked out, before quietly backing out of the tent as Beca lets out a tiny sigh in her sleep and curls up closer to her best friend.
He's starting to feel sleepy and pleasantly buzzed himself when the video finally ends, Benji returning to the main file only to find that it's the last video on file.
"Guess we'll have to wait till tomorrow," he announces.
"Guess so," Jesse agrees breezily, wondering what adventures it'll hold. "Night, Benji," he adds, standing and squeezing his shoulder on his way out.
Before he shuts the door, he texts Beca a picture of their view, the skyline lit by stars, Benji's back silhouetted against the chair as he nurses a beer and stargazes.
When Beca responds, it's a short video of the lake and the girls seated around it, laughing and chatting among themselves as they share two boxes of pizza.
I love you, awesome nerd, she tells him.
Love you, too, he writes back, feeling settled to his soul as he lays down and closes his eyes.
There's another vlog in the morning when Jesse wakes up, nibbling the remains of a bagel as he watches it with Benji.
"Good morning, Benji! Another day at camp. Today we're enduring death-defying trust exercises, or at least that's what Aubrey tells us. Also, we're suiting up!" She turns the camera so they can see her in swim suit and vest, beaming. "I don't know what Aubrey's planning, but it sounds like fun. Anyway, I'll talk to you soon! Bye!"
Vlogs are few and far between on Sunday with only one introductory vlog after their morning hike revealing a giant water slide and a chain of floatation mats out into the lake. Jesse would kill to watch the events live, grinning as he imagines their faces, especially when Emily sends them a vlog mid-afternoon to show them a zipline.
Emily, bless her, records the whole thing, Beca laughing the entire way down while Chloe screams in delight, the remaining girls falling on a spectrum of terror and pure joy as they're flung outward across the lake. It's only when Emily has her chance that she wraps up the filming and takes hold of the handle, leaving them both to speculate once more.
They don't hear from Emily again until ten PM, when she sends them two vlogs that they sit down to watch with a bowl of popcorn between them, movie-style.
The screen comes to life and the first thing he sees is a mud pit, an actual mud pit, and Jesse's laughing before they even hop into it at the disbelief on all of their faces.
Needless to say, the mud pit meets and exceeds all of his delighted expectations, especially when Aubrey pulls out a hose and showers them down as they soon as they reach the other side. One of the attendants films – he turns the camera and waves at one point, evidently enjoying his handiwork – so Jesse can watch every slippery second in the luxurious comfort of his hotel bed.
Fifteen minutes later, the Bellas high-five in front of their mystery cameraman, soaked and covered in muddy but happy.
In the second vlog the scene switches dramatically. It's pitch black and there's a lot of noise. Amid all the confusion, it takes Jesse a while to realize that Fat Amy is trapped in a tree. Or, more accurately, netted in a bear trap, dangling from a tree.
Unseen, Cynthia Rose says, "Damn, that tree is strong."
Jesse tries to keep his laughter to a minimum so he can hear what they're saying, but when Fat Amy comes crashing down with an almighty war cry, he loses it.
"Everyone's okay!" Emily adds for their benefit while Fat Amy groans and Beca lets out a long sigh of relief at her side.
"Sounds like they're having fun," Benji muses, listening to the unseen clamor on screen.
"Totally," Jesse agrees.
Pending World Championship or not, if this is the result, he may have to arrange for more camping trips in the future.
In the morning, there's one last vlog waiting for them.
"Hey, Benji! We miss you! Can't wait to see you again. I hope you guys have a safe flight; text me when you get home! Also – check this out." She skips a stone across the lake, eliciting an immediate "pfff" off-screen before Fat Amy launches one halfway across the water, Stacie whistling appreciatively. In the background, Beca and Chloe are dismantling the tent and making sure everyone's belongings are in the right bags, Emily helpfully panning to them so he can watch them sort things out. They seem – more relaxed, and he can feel the confidence radiating from everyone as a result, balance restored.
Even Emily seems more enthusiastic as she signs off with a last, "World's, here we come!"
Sitting in a crowded airport waiting for a delayed flight home, Jesse can't help but smile, grateful to be included in their world.