Hey folks!

First and foremost, for RJRMovieFan, thank you! And again, you hit it on the nail! Junk is in the house, dude. Great insight about Chloe and Ashley btw. Chloe's whole story will be told in a few more chapters, and Ashley will have her part in this story too. Can't tell you too much now. One thing for sure, the two of them are the constant main character in this story. But like I said, I still have some surprises up my sleeve. :D

To other silent reader, thank you very much for reading. :D

Okay. Now for the story. In the end of the last chapter, I said that there will be another Bella, so... here she is, the one and only Emily Junk. Just like in the tittle, Beca will meet her mother and her aca-child in this chapter.

I hope you all enjoy. I don't own Pitch Perfect. Let's dig in.


Atlanta: Monday 05.23 PM, September 29th 2025

Beca goes straight to hotel after arriving at Atlanta. She's exhausted, so she orders room service, eats in her room, takes her meds, showers, and calls Donna to tell her that she's alive before going to sleep after fighting the urge to call her... ex-girlfriend.

Around midnight, she wakes up abruptly, sweating and panting because of another nightmare. The very same nightmare she has been having since Ashley left. Then she shakes her head lightly, knowing that she won't be able to sleep again, she decides to mix and write down some ideas for a song.

What inspires a better song than a heart wrenching break up, right?


Atlanta: Tuesday, September 30th 2025

The dawn is already breaking when she finally runs out of ideas, but the zzz hasn't come back yet. So she changes, getting into her grey hoodie, wearing her black jeans with a pair of converse, and then heads out to the cemetery after buying a bouquet of daisies for her mother. It's been a couple of months since she came to her mother's grave.

Once she arrives, she takes a deep breath, walking slowly to her mom's grave. It's chilly in the morning, the sun hasn't come up fully yet, and the sky is still pale blue. So there aren't so many people there.

Then she stands silently in front of her mom's head stone, putting down the flowers bouquet under it, tracing the words on it with her eyes.

Lucia Marie Anderson

Beloved Mother.

After sniffling softly and wiping the tears in the corner of her eyes, Beca presses her hand on her lips before pressing it on the head stone. Then she sits down on the grass, cross-legged and remains silent, walking down the memory lane she has with her mother.

When Beca was still a kid, her mother was the one who taught her to sing and play piano. She was the one who sparked the musical talent in Beca. After Warren bailed on them by cheating with his student that became his wife not long after the divorce, she worked several jobs to make sure that Beca had everything she needed to nourish her talent.

For all of the right reasons, Beca loves her mother with every fiber of her being. But just as everything she'd loved, her mother had gone way too soon. She didn't have a chance to see that her daughter had held the world in her hand, all because of her mother's love and faith in her.

After a long moment of silent, Beca eventually says, "Hi mom. It's been a while." She inhales deeply before saying with broken voice, "I miss you."

Trying to hold in the tears, Beca takes a few ragged breaths and shakes her hands before she says with shaky breath, "Remember a couple of months ago I told you that my life was perfect? You know, the job is great, I have a lot of money in my hand now, I have a couple of best friends, and I got the most wonderful girlfriend in the whole world."

The pain under her chest is unbearable. So she pulls her knees close to her chest, hugging her legs with her arms, and locks her hands together. "Well, I still have the most of them mom. But I recently lost the most important one." She takes a deep breath before she adds, "I did a stupid thing, and it cost me the love of my life."

Then she lets out a damp chuckle before she continues, "Ashley, remember? Blonde, beautiful, hilarious, smart, kind, has the brightest bluest eyes I've ever seen? That one. I'm sure you remember. I've come here with her so many times in the past five years. I bet you'd like her if you had a chance to meet her in person. You both are the only two who could call me up on my shit." Then she let out a sad smile. "Yeah, she's wonderful that way."

She can't help a single track of tears running down her face, but she wipes it with the back of her hand quickly, brushes the knuckle of her index finger under her nose, and clears her throat. "I uh... I was planning to propose you know. I've shown you the ring a year ago. But now... after what happened the other night..."

It takes her a while, rocking her body back and forth, trying to ease the pain under her diaphragm before she says, "Do you remember Chloe? It must be hard to remember her since you haven't seen her in the past ten years. She is the one with red hair, sweet, cheerful, happy and bubbly all the time, and has a pair of mesmerizing blue eyes. You know, the one who held me tight on your funeral, right here when I broke down in tears. I guess you remember, because you'd met her several times when you were still alive."

With a long heavy sigh, she says, "I did tell you that she is my first love. I remember you pushed me to tell her how I feel." Beca smiles sadly, wiping a single tear from her cheek before she says, "I left her 10 years ago. You already knew the story, I've told you before. Well, guess what? I finally told her. We met again 3 days ago on my 5th anniversary night with Ashley. You would've thought that meeting the person you left years ago for the first time must've been the most awkward situation right? Can't blame you.I felt the same. I did. Until we had a fight but ended up with me telling her that she is my first love, and then we kissed. Awkward is an understatement, Mom."

Beca scoffs. "Surprise, surprise! Guess you'd be so disappointed by me now, because I'm no different than the infamous Dr. Mitchell."

After another moment of silent, she chuckles as a thought comes into her mind. Beca sniffles and says, "No offense Mom. But I'm a little bit, just a tiny bit relieved by the fact that you're gone. Because if you're still here, I bet you'd be kicking up my ass by now. You know, for being such an asshole. And I wouldn't be able to blame you because even you become so terrifying when you're mad, I am really an asshole right now."

With a long sigh, Beca drops her head between her arms before whispering with her voice broken, "I messed up Mom. Again. And I'm not sure if I can or should fix it this time."

Then she lays down on the grass next to her mother's grave, trying to keep her eyes open, wanting to see the blue sky even though it's too bright. Eventually, she gives up and closes her eyes, enjoying the ticklish sensation from the grass under her palm, feeling the chilly wind blowing in her face, smelling the autumn air.

For a moment, she forgets her problems. For a split second, she can feel a serenity. And damn! If it doesn't feel so good. Suddenly, a memory strikes into her mind, and serene smile appears on her face.

"You told me once. And I quote." Beca clears her throat, trying to mimic her mother's voice. "You should be afraid when it comes to love, Beca. Because you wouldn't love better if you are not afraid enough. If you're not afraid, it means you haven't love enough."

Beca chuckles over the bittersweet memory, and then she blows out a long steady breath calmly before she continues, "I believed you Mom. I did. When I was in love with Chloe, I was scared out of my mind. That's how I knew that I loved her so much. Because I was so afraid. So, so terrified. And after Warren disowned me, I just... ran away."

Then she turns her body to face her mother's grave beside her, putting one hand under her ear to support her head, and the other hand on the cement of the grave before she softly says, "Don't get me wrong Mom. I love you. I always have and always will. But I think you were partly wrong. Or maybe it was simply the half lesson you had learnt in your short meaningful life."

"But me?" She lets out a heavy sigh. "I've learnt different lessons on my own in the past 10 years. I've learnt that, yeah, loving could be terrifying. In fact, it should be terrifying, especially when you love too much. But you know what Mom? I also found out that it's not being terrified that shows you've loved enough. It's overcoming the fear that shows you've loved enough."

"I know right?" Beca laughs lightly. "Who would've thought that your snarky skeptic daughter could've learnt that kind of shit?" Her laughter turns into a loving smile as she says, "I learnt that from loving and being loved by Ashley, Mom. Told you, she's wonderful that way."

Then Chloe's smile flashes on her mind, and she says, "And Chloe... she's also wonderful. You know it. And now your stupid useless daughter has hurt the two most wonderful women in her life. Three actually, to count you in. I know how much you hated cheating."

She sighs deeply and asks, "What should I do, Mom? I don't know what to do. Can you tell me what to do? Who should I choose between the two of them?" Then she scoffs. "Sorry. Sounds so cocky. Like they'll want the damaged me anyway. I think I've caused enough damages, Mom. Maybe they'll be better left without me. I'm the toxic. Only I can wreck the kindest and most amazing human in the whole world. Not only one. But two. Maybe I should just pack my back and walk away."

With a harsh huff, she sits up, messes with her hair, and stays quietly, thinking about what to do. After a while, she sighs deeply and gets up, brushing the grass off her clothes. Strangely, she feels a lot lighter and calmer.

Beca stands up straight, looking at her mother's head stone and says, "Thank you for listening Mom. I feel so much better. I promise I'll come visit again soon. And don't worry too much. Though I'm still as clumsy as ever, still forget my keys and phone all the time, and leave the tooth paste uncapped, but I'm doing better with my life. I am. So... You just rest in peace, okay? No need to come back and kick my ass."

With that being said, Beca puts her hand on her lips, and then presses it on her mother's head stone gently before she turns and walks away.


It's a little after eight in the morning when Beca walks out from the cemetery, and she's hungry. So she decides to go to a diner near the hotel and have a breakfast. After placing her order, she holds her phone, hovering her thumb on Ashley's contact, considering calling the blonde. But before she can decide, her phone rings, and it shows Emily's face on the screen.

"What's up Legacy?"

"Captain! You're up early! How strange!"

"Yeah, yeah." Beca rolls her eyes. "We might be expecting an apocalypse soon."

A soft smile appears on Beca's face when she hears Legacy giggling. "Stacie told me that you're in Atlanta. Since you're already up, how about breakfast?"

Beca rolls her eyes again with a hint of fondness, knowing how much her friends care about her. "Actually, I'm having one. Come and join me."

"On my way Capt. 10 minutes." Legacy says after Beca told her where she is.

10 minutes later, Emily arrives, skipping happily toward her former captain, hugging her tightly as she shrieks loudly, "I've missed you Pop!"

"Uh... Legacy... I need my ears in a perfect condition to listen and make good music."

"Oops... sorry." Emily says with a wide grin, releasing the tiny brunette, and then takes a seat in front of her.

Time hasn't seemed to change the bubbly childlike Emily, and Beca is so glad about it. She smiles fondly toward the not so baby Bella anymore and stutters, "I uh... I kinda miss you too, Em." When she sees happy tears are pooling in the younger Bella's eyes, she quickly adds, "But let's not make a big deal out of it."

Emily chuckles softly, nodding excitedly as she wipes the tears from the corner of her eyes. She orders pancakes and coffee, and then starts a conversation with the older bella.

"What brings you here Pop?"

Beca narrows her eyes, pursing her lips before she asks, "Well, I guess Stacie must've filled you in?"

"Nu uh." Emily shakes her head. "Just bits and pieces. She said you're having a down time, and might need a friend. So... here I am."

Beca pushes a bite of pancake into her mouth, nodding absentmindedly before she muffles, "I visited my mom this morning."

"Oh. How was it?" Emily asks while thanking the waiter for bringing her order.

"Hmmm..." Beca purses her lips. "It was... relieving."

"Everything alright back home?" Emily asks before taking a sip of her coffee.

With a heavy sigh, Beca shakes her head lightly and says, "Nope. Not really."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" Emily asks casually.

Beca simply shakes her head lightly while keeps eating her breakfast.

"Just know that I'm here to listen if you change your mind, Pop." Emily says before shoving a huge chunk of pancake into her mouth.

Upon seeing the way Emily eat, Beca can't help the fond smile appears on her face. The other Bellas used to tease the youngest Bella about how she is a perfect combination of Chloe and her.

Emily is cheerful, bubbly, and overly enthusiastic, much like Chloe. But she's also a music freak, a little bit grumpy, extremely clumsy, and a messy eater, which are totally Beca's traits.

That's why Emily got the honor to be called the first aca-child. Most of the times, the tall brunette even calls Chloe mom, because the red read is the loving, caring, and obviously in charge of the scolding one.

On the other hand, she calls Beca Pop, because the tiny brunette is the shoulder to cry on, the spoiling one, and she's way too overprotective toward the aca-child. Benji was the first victim of the so called Pop.

Beca snorts in her effort to hold her laughter, remembering the one time Benji take Emily out on their first date. Beca had drilled the half-confused half-frightened Benji with questions like, "What is your intention with our Emily?" Then, "At what time are we expecting legacy to be home tonight?" And threats like, "Hurt her and you'll live to regret it." And the most terrifying one, "If you do so much as scratching her finger nails, I'll break your fingers."

It was all said with a fiercely face. Chloe even had to dragged her to the kitchen before the poor young man peed himself on the couch in the living room.

"Pop!" Emily waves her hand in front of the tiny DJ. "Hey Pop!"

"Err... what?" Beca shakes her head with furrowed eyebrows. "Oh, sorry Em. Got caught up in my thought. What did you say again?"

Emily laughs lightly and says, "You're getting old Pop."

"Hey! Do not mock your Pop, Kid." Beca scolds with a playful glare.

With a mock scared face, Emily teases, "Aye aye Captain."

Beca puffs her nose and asks, "What did you say again?"

"I said, I'm here to listen if you want to talk."

"Actually..." Beca purses her lips, considering the question she wants to ask. "I'd like to ask you something if you don't mind."

"Shoot."

"What happen between you and Benji?" Beca asks cautiously.

Upon seeing that Emily is looking at her with narrowed eyes, Beca instantly blurts out, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I just thought that... I've never asked you before."

Emily smiles at her, nodding lightly before saying, "It's okay Beca." Then she purses her lips, playing with her eyebrows, thinking before she answers, "Life happened. I guess."

Beca simply gives her a puzzled look while sipping her decaffeinate coffee.

"Well," Emily shoves another chunk of pancake. "After world championship, Benji was supposed to move to New York with Jesse. But since we just started our relationship, he decided to stay and spent 3 more years for grad school in Barden. We were together until I graduated. And then, Benji had expected that we could've finally moved to New York together. However, Residual Heat prolonged my contract with them in Atlanta, which was a very good offer that I couldn't refuse."

Emily stops for a second to drink before continues nonchalantly. "We fought on that. Benji said that it was my turn to sacrifice because he had stayed three more years at Barden for me. I told him I didn't ask him to do that. Long story short, we broke up. End of story."

"Hmmm..." Beca nods absentmindedly with sympathetic smile.

"It was hard and nasty." Emily shrugs casually. "Thankfully, Jessica and Ashley were still here in Atlanta, and all of the other Bellas kept checking on me every day. Aubrey and Stacie even visited me."

Beca sighs deeply as guilty feeling creeps up into her chest. "I'm sorry Em. I should've been there for you."

"It's okay Pop." Emily shakes her head lightly, waving her fork, swallowing before she says nonchalantly, "You were dealing with your problems too. Besides, I'm over it years ago. So, no hard feeling."

"Still," Beca says dejectedly. "I should've been there, Em. I missed out on everything in your life and all of The Bellas."

Emily puts her hand on Beca's, smiling when she says, "Don't sweat it Pop. Really. I also wished that I could've been there for you in all those years you were struggling. But, the most important thing is that we make it out alive. And we've been better ever since."

Beca smiles fondly toward the younger brunette, realizing how mature the clumsy spoiled kid has become. But the baby bella doesn't see the look, too busy shoving another huge piece of pancake into her mouth.

"Since when did you turn into a fine wise ass, young lady?" Beca smirks, and Emily bursts into a laughter, spitting pieces of pancakes out of her mouth.

"Ew... I take it back." Beca says, scrunching her face over-dramatically before she follows, barking out a loud laughter.

After the laughter unwind, they fall into a comfortable silent, busy dealing with the plates in front of them. When they finish, Emily immediately orders a glass of water, handing it to Beca as she firmly says, "Pop your pills, Pop." Then her eyes widen with a huge grin. "Hey, it rhymes."

Beca rolls her eyes playfully, taking out her meds from her pocket, putting them into her mouth before swallowing them with the water Emily handed her. "All done Kid."

"Good."

Then Beca orders another cup of tea, while Emily orders another cup of cappuccino.

"You need to go easy on those caffeine, Em."

"I can't function without at least 2 cups of coffee in the morning." Emily shrugs. "What can I say? I learnt from the best."

Beca chuckles, remembering how addicted she herself was to coffee back in college. She had at least 4 cups a day. Chloe used to say that she bleed caffeine all over her body.

"I met him again, you know." Emily says, and it pulls Beca out of her memory lane.

"Hm?"

"Benji." Emily says. "I met him again around three years ago. Remember the time you reached out to me and Stacie then we met in New York?"

Beca nods lightly, smelling the jasmine tea before taking a sip.

"I bumped into him with Jesse in the city." Emily says casually.

"Oh. Jesse. Haven't heard that name in a very long time." Beca comments distastefully, never really like her former coworker at the radio station because he kept pushing her to watch movies and go out with him. "How was it? The meeting. Or the bumping."

"It was okay, I think?"

Sensing something more about it, Beca raises an eyebrow and asks, "How were they?

"Well... Let's just say that it didn't work out really well with them."

"What do you mean?"

Emily looks at her, pursing her lips before hesitantly says, "They were having a bad time. In fact, I think they still are. Based on what I've heard about Jesse around the label."

"Huh." Beca responds curiously. "I've never really paid attention. But if I remember correctly, didn't Jesse get a really good job as a music producer in a movie production company in New York after graduated?"

"He did." Emily sips her coffee. "But you know what people said. Money and fame are the root of the evil. Apparently, Jesse let the money and fame drowned him into a mess."

"What happened?"

"After his career took off, he got involved with the wrong woman who made him do a lot of gambling."

"Oooo."

"I know." Emily says convincingly. "And you know what gambling brings along. More women, alcohol, drugs, tons of debts, and massive troubles. Needless to say, he lost everything in a blink of an eye. He got fired for being irresponsible, and he went bankrupt because of the debts. He sold everything he had, but it still couldn't cover half of the debts. He still hasn't gotten up on his feet yet."

"Whew... and I thought my life was hard." Beca says with wide eyes, then she cautiously asks, "And Benji?"

Emily puffs her cheeks before answering, "He uh... he wasn't the sweet kind Benji I had known in college. Turned out, breaking up with me was too hard on him. And because of his unique quirks, it wasn't easy for him to find a job or stay in a job."

Beca takes Emily's hand into hers, squeezing it gently before she says, "It's not you fault Em."

"I know." Emily replies without hesitation.

Beca is stunned for a second, but she quickly turns her attention by sipping her tea.

After taking a sip of her coffee, Emily explains with a soft smile, "We made our own choices Pop. It was hard for me too after I broke up with him. But life must go on. I had my fair share of crazy broken-hearted phase. For 3 months, I was sulking, broken-hearted, but then I decided that I've had enough of it and moved on. Unfortunately, Benji used that moment to wreck his life and pin it on me."

Beca nods absentmindedly, thinking about the things Emily just said. We made our own choices.

It might seems harsh for some people, but those words carry a huge weight of truth. We do make our own choices. She's still amazed by how grown up the younger Bella has become. Eventually, she decides to tell Emily the truth, hoping that she can get another perspective.

"Em, I'm going to tell you the true reason I'm here. But let me finish, okay?" Beca says with soft warning look, knowing how the tall brunette can't help herself to interrupt.

"Aye aye Captain." Emily says, giving Beca a mock salute with a huge grin before sipping her coffee.

Beca rolls her eyes playfully and takes a deep breath before telling the event from her 5th anniversary with Ashley, the fight and kiss with Chloe, then about the day after that she spent with Ashley, and eventually, the break up. It surprises her more than anything when she can tell the story without sobbing uncontrollably. Well she still cries a little bit, and it still hurts like hell when she talk about the break up, but it's a lot easier than yesterday.

Guess talking with her mother's grave do help a lot more than she has expected. The better news is, she feels even lighter after telling her problem to Emily.

"I'm so sorry about what happened, Pop." Emily says sympathetically while squeezing Beca's hand gently.

"Yeah, me too." Beca says with a sad smile.

"What makes you change your mind and tell me about it?"

Beca shrugs and says, "You said that we make our own choices. And it got me thinking."

"About?" Emily asks with furrowed eyebrows.

"About me leaving 10 years ago." Beca sighs heavily. "You know, if I never had let my father's word affected me and then left, what do you think would've happened?"

"Hmmm..." Emily purses her lips, rubbing her hand on her chin with her eyebrows furrowed. Then she looks at Beca before she asks, "Does it matter now? I mean, it's already done. You got through it. You've become better than before."

"But I did hurt all of you." Beca says dejectedly. "Especially Chloe. I've told you about what she said the other night. If I hadn't had left, maybe things would've been different for her. For us. All of us."

Emily chuckles lightly and says, "There is no way to find out, Pop. Like I said, we all got through it. In our own ways definitely. So it doesn't matter anymore. We've made our own choices too."

Still confused, Beca takes her time by sipping her tea before saying, "I don't get it. You know I'm as good as a stone when it comes to stuff like this."

Emily rolls her eyes playfully. Sometimes she forgets that Beca needs a comprehensive walk-through to understand things like this. So she takes a deep breath and starts with a simple question, "Are you happy with your life Pop?"

"Well yeah." Beca answers without hesitation before she adds, "Until I kissed Chloe and all hell broke loose. Not that I'm not happy having her back into my life, but under this circumstances..."

"Do you think you'd become who you are today if these past ten years didn't happen?" Emily cuts her off.

"Huh." That question sure needs more time to answer. Beca takes a deep breath and hesitantly says, "Well... Sure, if I could've, I would've chose not to leave Chloe and all of you. Maybe I should've chose not to leave."

"U huh. And..." Emily simply raises her eyebrows with a tight smile, knowing that Beca isn't done yet.

Then Beca sighs and continues, "But it means that... I would never have met Donna and Harvey. Then I wouldn't have become Stephan's godmother. And uh... I would never have met Ashley. There have been so many wonderful things happened in my life since I've met her. So it means I would never have become the person I've become today."

"U huh. Then..."

Beca raises her left shoulder and says, "And... Patrick and Troian. I would never have met them. And let's say that I could've met all of them in other circumstances because of fate or something like that, but uh... my life wouldn't have been the same. I, wouldn't have been the same."

"So?"

After blowing out a long steady breath from her mouth, Beca says, "So... most definitely not? I mean, I don't know for sure. But I don't think I would be telling you about my feelings if I haven't had the past 10 years. You know how closed off I was in college. The people I have today... they have their fair share in changing my life. In helping me become who I am today."

"I take it you don't regret it then." Emily says with a soft smile.

Beca closes her eyes, sighing before answering, "I guess."

"Let's say you have a chance." Emily says with narrowed eyes. "Is there anything you want to change in the past 10 years? I mean, judging by your condition before you kissed Chloe?"

"I... don't think so?" Beca replies hesitantly, and then her mind is flooded with the memory of her life with Ashley. She smiles lightly in relief, shaking her head as she says, "I mean, judging by how my life have turned out, there's nothing I would've changed, Em."

"Hm." Emily says with victory smile. "Then the decision you made 10 years ago doesn't matter anymore. What matters now is the decision you're gonna make after you kissed Chloe."

Beca nods absentmindedly, finally understand Legacy's explanation. But then something comes up again. "But like I said, Em. I did hurt Chloe, you, and all the other bellas."

"And like I said, we make our own choices." Emily says with a light smile. "We got over it eventually. Besides, I don't think we would've had such a strong bond if you hadn't left. I'm not saying that you should've left. But everything turned out to be okay eventually. Things do happen for a reason. For many reasons even. Some of them are good, some of them are not. It all depends on how we react on it."

Trying to let the words sink into her mind so she can really believe it, Beca simply nods absentmindedly.

"Please don't take too much credit from the hurt Pop." Emily smiles compassionately. "Let's say that you hadn't left, the universe would've found another way to screw us up. It's wicked that way. In a sole purpose, to make us a better person. That is, if we choose to be one. Fortunately, I can say in full confident that we, The Bellas, all chose to be better."

Beca is taken aback. How could I never see this one coming?

With a relieved smile, Beca shakes her head lightly and teases, "For someone who didn't have her Pop in her life for more than seven years, you sure have grown up more than expectation, Kid."

Emily laughs lightly and says, "Well, what can I say. It's the perks of having a village of wonderful sisters. Plus, I didn't take psychology for 2 semesters back in Barden all for nothing."

Beca barks out a laughter, and Emily follows suit. After the laughter subside, Beca clears her throat and says, "One more question, Legacy."

"Shoot." Emily replies before sipping her coffee.

With an intense look, Beca asks, "How do you feel about me and Chloe after you heard about the kiss? Do you think uh... we should be together?"

After letting out a long sigh, Emily puts down her cup, biting her bottom lip with her eyebrows furrowed before she says, "Well... I'll be glad if you can be as close as you were in college. And honestly, I'll be happier if you can become more than friends since... you know, you were in love with each other in college. You were my Mom and Pop. Of course I want the two of you end up together. But how I feel and what I want don't matter Pop."

Upon seeing the confused look on Beca, Emily smiles and says, "What matters is how you feel and what you want. Because you'll be the one who live with it. Not me. So you need to ask yourself. Can you live with... whatever decision you're going to make?"

The words certainly catch Beca's attention more. Beca rests her elbow on the table, putting her hands in front of her mouth in a hollowed triangle position, thinking hard for a long while.

Eventually, she reveals, "I thought I knew what I feel, Em. But look where I end up. I've hurt not only Chloe. I've also hurt Ashley. I love them. Both of them. They are... they have significant roles in my life. But all I've done is hurting them. And right now, I just... I don't want to hurt them more than I already have. I can't."

"What do you mean?" Emily asks in confusion.

Beca simply stares at her with her eyebrows raised and her lips pressed tightly as if saying Isn't it obvious?

Instantly, Emily's eyes widen in shock and fear. "No. You can't leave again. You can't disappear on us again!"

With a loud huff, Beca drops her head and closes her eyes.

"Who do you love more?" Emily asked bluntly.

Beca looks up at her, frowning and scrunching her face in total confusion. Then she asks in disbelief, "Who do I love more?" She scoffs. "What kind of question is that? Is this some kind of joke? A reality show?"

"Just answer the question." Emily says in upset. "Pick one."

Again, Beca scoffs harshly in disbelief before she says in upset, "I'm not picking one, Em. Are you out of your mind? I hurt them! I have no right to pick any of them! They are better left off without me!"

Since it's not so breakfast time anymore, there are not so many people in the diner. But still, the sound of Beca snapping in desperation draws the attention toward them. So Beca takes a deep breath to calm herself before saying, "Sorry Em."

"I'm sorry too." Emily sighs heavily while shaking her head. Then Beca simply nods and sips her now cold tea.

"The question," Emily says again cautiously, and Beca just looks at her tiredly. "It's inappropriate. I know. But it's necessary. Before you make any decision ahead, especially stupid decision like leaving again, just try. Try to think about your feelings to them, and just pick one. And then you can start from there."

"It's..." Beca huffs in frustration. "I can't just pick one, Em. They are too good, too kind to be just... handpicked by me as if I'm good enough for them."

"Just try." Emily insists. "It's not about how good they are, or how not good you are for them. This is simply about how you feel. Start by telling me how you feel about them."

Beca rolls her eyes tiredly and relents. After taking another deep breath, she says, "I... love them. And the truth is, this isn't about loving someone more than the other. I love them both. Just... in different ways. I guess."

"Okay." Emily says with a reassuring smile. "Go on."

"Chloe..." Beca sighs heavily. "She's my first love Em. And she will always be my first love. She's kind, and sweet, and-" she lets out a light smile. "She's wonderful. And when I was in love with her, even though I was scared out of my mind, I was also so, so happy for having her in my life. She made me happy."

"But..."

"No but Em."

"Then why I'm sensing one?" Emily retorts matter-of-factly. "Just spit it out. It's just me. I won't tell any of them."

Beca glances away from her, blowing out a long steady breath before she says in remorse, "But... I uh... I've grown out of that feeling, Em. I still love her. I do. And I'm happy to have her back in my life. But... just not as a lover."

"And why is that?" Emily asks casually.

"I..." Beca shakes her head very lightly with somehow sad yet fond smile and sighs. "I'm in love with Ashley, Em. She's everything that I didn't even know that I wanted. Or better yet, needed. She, is a surprise." She chuckles softly. "A good kind of surprise that I'd never known I'd been waiting for a freaking long time."

"Hmmm..." Emily smiles. She can see how tender the way Beca talk about Ashley.

"After 5 years together," Beca smiles lightly while her eyes is unfocused, thinking back to the time she's shared with Ashley. "I couldn't even imagine how my life would've been without Ashley in it. She is my constant, you know. The only thing that reminds me that my heart is beating, and I better make a good count of it. I remember exactly how it felt when I realized that I'm falling in love with her."

Emily knows that Beca's mind is totally not with where she is, and she simply smiles, letting Beca telling her about her feelings toward Ashley.

"It's like... the time in my life started ticking again. And I could feel my heartbeat again." Beca chuckles lightly and shakes her head subtly. "She is the center of my universe. My life revolves around her. She keeps me in my orbit, so I don't wander around without... a sense of direction. And she's the gravity that pulls and keeps me grounded."

After that, Beca remains silent, letting the warm feeling creeping up into her chest.

With a relieved sigh, Emily smiles so widely upon seeing the happiness spreading out from every single fiber of her former captain. It isn't unusual to see that Beca seems not only incredibly happy, but somehow peaceful when she's talking about Ashley. Never mind that she just poured out one hell of sappy cheesy stuff about love and feelings in a normal conversation that didn't involve melody or music.

Then Emily clears her throat lightly, earning the DJ's attention, and says, "I've heard your works in the past 10 years you know. Even when you were still DJ M, and I had no idea that it was you."

Beca raises an eyebrow, not so sure where this is going, but she remains silent, letting the tall brunette explain.

"I don't know if you notice Pop," Emily says with a light smile. "But I could feel your music has changed. And I think it started after you met Ashley. It has gradually changed from dark, and heart-broken, and depressed, into something... lighter, more hopeful, and surprisingly, even in my taste, full of happy ending cliché. That if I remember correctly, wasn't something that you were fond of back in college."

Upon seeing the teasing smile on Emily's face, Beca simply rolls her eyes and chuckles lightly.

"And those sappy cheesy dorky stuff you just said?" Emily smiles mockingly. "I never even knew you had it in you. For a split second, I thought you were having a fever."

Beca rolls her eyes again, glaring at Legacy playfully as she says in mock anger, "Shut up. Don't you dare telling anyone about this."

Then Emily laughs before she playfully says, "Easy there Pop. Your secret is safe with me. But I might add some of the words in my new song."

With a light smile, Beca pulls out her phone and looks at the picture of her and Ashley on her screen. Upon seeing the goofy grin on Beca's face, Emily snatches her phone, and looks at the screen. She can't hold the teasing grin on her face.

On the other hand, Beca is blushing red while rubbing the back of her neck nervously as she says, "I don't know why Em. But with Ashley, I feel that any kind of pain is somehow... bearable. I would take any pain if it's to be with her."

"I guess you've made your decision there Pop." Emily says cheerfully before giving back Beca's phone.

"I guess I have." Beca nods lightly, smiling so fondly as she stares at her phone's screen again. "Thanks Em."

"No probemo. Glad I can help." Emily says with a wide grin. But suddenly, Emily's face turns into worried look as the thought of Chloe slips into her mind. "Can I ask you something, Pop?"

"Sure."

"What will you do with uh... Chloe?" Emily asks cautiously.

Beca's face drops instantly, and uneasy feeling is creeping back up into her chest.

"I just..." Emily smiles sheepishly while patting Beca's hand. "Well... you know that Ashley is my best friend. But Chloe is practically my sister. In fact, she's practically my mom." She tries to joke, earning a little tug of smile on the corner of Beca's lips. Then she takes a deep breath before continues, "I want you to be happy, Pop. But the thing with Chloe is... I think you need to tell her. The sooner the better. And... please handle it cautiously."

"I know." Beca sighs heavily. "I did promise her that I will call her. And she gave me a week until next Friday."

Emily just waits in silent, knowing not to push further.

After a while, Beca shakes her head lightly, flexing her neck before she says, "I'll talk to her once I get back to L.A."

Trying to encourage Beca, Emily smiles and says, "It's okay Pop. Just try to make it less hard for her. She had it very hard when uh... when you left."

"Oh God." Beca breathes out in frustration. "Chloe is going to be hurt again. I'm gonna hurt her again."

"It's gonna be fine, Pop." Emily smiles calmly. "We've got your back. Both of you."

"We?" Beca asks in half-confusion half-tiredly.

"The Bellas."

"No, you're not." Beca says dejectedly. "You shouldn't. I'm gonna hurt the most lovable person in the group."

"Pop... All we want is you to be happy." Emily says with a reassuring smile. When Beca gives her a doubtful look, she adds, "Sure, it won't be easy at first. But we'll get over it. That's what family do. Be happy for one another."

"Even when another one is hurt and not happy?" Beca asks skeptically.

"This isn't about choosing between yours or Chloe's happiness." Emily says, remembering Stacie's words when they had an emergency meeting after Beca reconnected with them. "We'll all be there for the two of you. No matter what happen in this situation. Aubrey, Stacie, Fat Amy, Jessica and our Ashley, Flo, Lily, CR, then me. We'll all be there for the two of you."

Suddenly Beca's jaw drops opened, and her face is full of fear. "Aubrey's gonna kill me for hurting her best friend again."

"She probably would." Emily mutters worriedly. But when she sees the fear in Beca's face, she adds, "But Stacie and I will stop her. Don't worry."

Beca huffs in frustration and asks, "What do I do Em?"

"Tell her the truth Beca." Emily grabs her hand and squeezes it gently. "Don't run away. Don't hide from her. Be there for her as a friend."

"What if she doesn't want to see me anymore?"

"I highly doubt it. She'd had enough time of her life without you. Trust me. As hard as it would be, Chloe would want to have her best friend back."

"I won't be so optimistic if I were you Em. She was so furious the other night and... now I'm gonna tell her that I choose Ashley." Beca says frantically before dropping her head in her hands, while Emily can only rub her hand sympathetically.

"How am I gonna tell her?" Beca whines in frustration. Then she mocks a high note voice, talking to the imaginary Chloe, "Hey Chlo. Remember I kissed you after telling you that you are my first love while I still had a girlfriend? Well... turns out I was caught up in the moment from the feelings I left behind. I love my girlfriend. But can we still be friends?"

Torn between amused and worried about Beca's frantic rambling, Emily smiles sheepishly and says, "Like that. But uh... with your normal voice and uh... Maybe a little bit more elaborated. And less blunt. So much less."

Beca holds her head up with her hands on her temple and her elbows on the table before dejectedly saying, "I can't hurt her again Em. I refuse to be the person who cause another pain to Chloe Beale."

Emily sighs sympathetically and says, "I know Pop. But looking at the situation now, everybody's already been hurting. So it's better to hurt her with honesty than to comfort her with a lie."

What Emily just said was true, but Beca remains silent, drowning in the thought of hurting her best friend again.

"It will take time for sure." Emily tries to assure her. "But Chloe will accept the situation. Eventually."

With a weak smile, Beca looks up at her and asks, "Are you sure?"

"She will still have you as a friend, right?"

"Absolutely." Beca says in determination. "Best friend, sister, co-captain. As long as she'll have me, Em."

Emily smiles and says with more confident, "Then we'll be fine Pop. As long as we're together. So, don't ever leave again. Don't even think about leaving again, no matter how hard the situation is. Okay?"

"Okay." Beca replies with a defeated sigh.

"Speaking of not leaving, are you coming to Bella's 10th reunion?" Emily asks, trying to change the subject.

"What reunion?"

Emily is taken aback by the fact that the older bella doesn't know about the reunion, and then she cautiously asks, "You do get the email about our reunion from Aubrey right?"

"Hm?" Beca furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. "I'm not sure. Donna is the one who deal with this stuff. Let me ask her."

"Okay."

Then Beca dials Donna's number right away.

"Hey monkey. How's Atlanta so far?"

"It's fine. I went to see mom this morning, and I'm with Emily now." Beca replies, and hurriedly adds, "Donna, did I get any email from Aubrey Posen-Conrad?"

"Actually yeah. Yesterday you got an invitation for The Bella's 10th reunion. I forgot to tell you yesterday."

"Huh." Beca responds unsurely. "Okay. Hey, how did the interview go?"

"Just like you said, she's very good at what she's doing. She made quite an impression in front of the managing boards. Besides, Harvey kind of like how tenacious she is."

Beca smiles and says, "Told you. She's the best at bending people's will. But it's yours and Harvey's decision to make."

"Sure Kid. By the way, how are you feeling, monkey?"

"Better." Beca says honestly.

"Good. You're taking your meds right?"

Upon hearing the not so subtle warning tone, Beca rolls her eyes and replies, "Yes mom. Don't worry, okay? I swear you're worse than my mom. My actual mom."

Donna laughs lightly. "Don't blame me for taking care of my little monkey. Besides, Harvey would kill me if anything happen to you. You are his golden goose."

"Pfft..." Beca rolls her eyes again, but with a hint of tenderness.

"Hey Kid. This morning the people who arrange MTV Awards called and asked if you would like to sing in that show. It seems like one of the audience uploaded a video of you singing at the karaoke bar. We've taken care of that right away, but some people might've seen it."

Beca groans and says, "No Donna. I don't sing in front of people. If they want me to DJ, I'll consider it."

"This can be a great opportunity to show how multitalented you are. Just think about it, okay? They gave us a month to give our decision. The show will be held in 7 months."

"Fine." Beca says in annoyance. "I'll think about it."

"Good girl. Now say hi to Emily from me."

"Okay." Beca ends the call.

"So?" Emily asks.

"Donna said hi. And yeah, Aubrey sent an email yesterday."

"Yesterday?!" Emily exclaims in shock.

"Donna said so." Beca shrugs. "Is something wrong?"

"No." Emily quickly compose herself from the confusion before saying with a tight smile, "Nothing's wrong at all."

Beca looks at her doubtfully, but shrugs it off. "When is it?"

"In a month if I remember correctly. November 1st." Emily says with a tight smile. "So, are you coming?"

"I don't know Em." Beca smiles sheepishly. "I've only met you, Stacie, and Fat Amy in person so far."

"And Chloe."

"And Chloe." Beca says with at tight smile. "Then after all of this feud triangle love? I'm not so sure I won't be banned from the reunion. Aubrey will probably scratch my name out of The Bellas alumni list, and then burn my bella scarf. I'd be lucky if I'm still alive or at least in one piece until reunion."

Emily chuckles lightly with a playful eye roll. "No, she won't. She always said that once a bella always a bella."

"It's been years since I've met all of The Bellas." Beca says nervously.

"The more reason for you to come Beca." Emily pursues calmly. "Everyone have missed you. And I bet you've missed them too."

With a light smile, Beca says, "Of course I've missed all of you. I mean, all of us in the same place, messing around like we were 20 again. It will feel very great to be around family again."

"So come then." Emily pouts with puppy eyes that over the years has only been defeated by Ashley's pout. "Please Pop."

Beca rolls her eyes and whines, "What's wrong with the women in my life, and their pouts, and puppy eyes? Ashley, you, Chloe? It's a curse."

Upon seeing that Beca has come back to her usual whiny self, Emily chuckles lightly and says, "Oh. You're in it for a surprise. You haven't met our Baby Belle yet. Her pout can even bend the unbendable master of bending, Aubrey Posen-Conrad."

"Oh. I know that for sure." Beca chuckles softly. "I've witnessed how Stacie turn head over heels only by one light pout."

"You've met Isabelle?"

"Yeah." Beca says with a look that says obviously. "Several times actually. Without Aubrey knowing. So... not a word Legacy. You don't want to cost Stacie her little princess."

Emily snorts and says, "Sure thing Captain." Then she stares at Beca expectantly and says, "So Pop, the reunion."

Beca groans loudly, causing Emily to intensify her pout and puppy eyes. "Please..."

"Fine." Beca says in mock annoyance before she adds, "But if things got messy, I'll blame you for that."

Emily squeals, jumping to hug the older bella over the table and shrieks, "Hooray! And don't worry Pop, it won't be messier than the time Chloe got really mad at you for unintentionally flirting with Kommisar."

"Legacy, air." Beca grunts under the smothering hug.

Emily pulls away, grinning from ear to ear.

"Flirting with Kommisar? Huh." Beca smiles softly over the memory. "Chloe was so furious at me. She didn't talk to me for almost two months unless it's Bella related. I had to bribe her with tons of mixes, tubs and tubs of ice cream, and a garden of flowers until she finally said good morning to me again."

Emily chuckles, remembering how dense Beca was of Chloe's blunt jealousy. "She was jealous you know?"

"I do now." Beca smirks. "But back then, I was... in a full denial that The Chloe Elizabeth Beale would never be jealous because I flirted with another woman. It was... impossible. I thought it was because the DSM and The World Championship thing."

"Nope." Emily shakes her head lightly with a teasing smile. "Her jealousy was flying way over the roof."

Beca chuckles softly and says, "I was so, so... dense."

"Yeah you were." Emily says with a knowing look. Then her face turns into a serious mode as she says, "Now that you've decided to come to the reunion, I have to tell you something."

Jumping to the worst conclusion, Beca's face turns white in the matter of seconds.

Upon seeing the former captain's terrified look, the tall brunette immediately says, "Nothing serious, or about The Bellas."

Beca sighs in relief before she asks, "What is it then?"

"Well, I've told you earlier that Jesse and Benji were in trouble, financially."

After getting a nod from Beca, Emily elaborates, "Ever since you've resurfaced, Jesse has been trying to reach you. He had come to every single reunion we had in the past 4 years, hoping to get a chance to meet you and ask for your help."

With her eyebrows furrowed, Beca rubs her chin gently before she says, "Now that you said that, I remember after I came out, Donna told me that Jesse did look for me. He wanted to meet me."

"Did you?"

"No." Beca says with a look that say are you kidding me. "At that time, there were one hell of people who claimed to know me. Harvey insisted that we didn't take that chance. Didn't want to cause any scandal. Besides, I never really liked him anyway. So no, I didn't. And Donna made sure that he couldn't reach me."

Emily sighs in relief and says, "He'll be joining us in reunion again this year. And I doubt that it's purely for meeting his old college friends. I'm telling you now not to avoid him or anything. He's harmless obviously. But I just want to warn you so you have a heads up."

"Huh." Beca nods her head lightly. "Okay."

Emily looks at the older bella intently before she asks, "What are you gonna do now Pop?"

With her lips pressed tightly and slightly frowned, Beca shakes her head and says, "I honestly don't know Em. I need to think about the way to tell Chloe, and I also need to... find my way back to Ashley. Any idea?"

"I don't know about your situation with Chloe..." Emily says cautiously. "But I think I can help you with Ashley's. Why don't you do what you do best?"

"What?" Beca scoffs. "Sulking around, complaining about life? Hiding in my bunker?"

Emily chuckles lightly and says, "No, silly. I mean do your stuff in music. Write or mix something for her. Then produce it to show Ashley how much you love her."

Beca scoffs with a tired eye roll as she says, "I don't think it's gonna work this time Legacy. She was..." She clears her throat with teary eyes. "This time, I don't think she's coming back, Em. She was very determined about breaking up with me."

"Come on Pop." Emily says stubbornly. "She's hurt. She just... needs time and reassurance from you."

"But what if she doesn't want to be with me anymore?" Beca says with frightened look. "I mean, I did cheat on her. And it hit her hard because she had been cheated on before."

"Does it mean you're just gonna stop trying?"

"I..." Beca is taken aback. "I don't mean it that way. I... I just don't think I deserve her."

"Pfft." Emily scoffs harshly. "Are you kidding me now? She loves you. You've never seen her when she's talking about you, but I have. She loves you, and she loves the way you love her. And if you know her the way I know her, Ashley isn't a type of person who take any shit from anybody. She doesn't deal with bullshit."

"I know." Beca says with a soft smile. "She wouldn't have stayed with me for so long if she hadn't thought that I'm worth her time and love."

"True."

Still, Beca looks helpless as she says, "But not this time Em. She broke her promise. And for her to do that... I must have hurt her so badly and pushed her way too far. So I don't think a couple of songs can fix it."

"Let's cross that bridge when it comes down to it." Emily says with a reassuring smile. "Though I don't believe there is any bridge to be crossed."

Beca just looks at her skeptically, but nods nevertheless.

"Now, where are you staying?"

"The Ritz-Carlton downtown."

"And how long do you plan on staying?"

"I don't know."

Emily purses her lips before she says, "Well, I'm moving to L.A. on Thursday. Why don't you stay with me, and then we can go back to L.A. together?"

"I don't want to bother you and Andre, Em." Beca says with a weak smile.

"Non sense." Emily says in half-annoyance. "You won't bother anybody. Besides, Andre is already in L.A. to prepare our place. Just come and stay with me. You can mope and think all the way you want. We'll do a lot of music. And in return, you can look at some lyrics I've been working on."

With a playful scoff, Beca says, "I knew there is something in it for you. Taking advantage of your broken-hearted sister I see."

"Of course." Emily smiles smugly. "When does anybody has a chance to work with you without having to pay the expensive price?"

"Never." Beca smirks smugly.

"So?"

"Okay, okay." Beca seems shy, stumbling in her words as she says, "But uh... you don't mind flying back with me right? I came here with uhm... my jet."

Emily gasps overdramatically, mocking offended as she says, "How dare you to ask me flying with you in your luxurious private jet, the infamous Becube?"

Beca groans loudly and whines, "Ashley told you? You've been hanging out way too much with her."

Emily laughs so hard before she mocks, "Becube? Really? I swear you could be more adorable than a 5 year old sometimes Pop. Besides, can't blame me for wanting to know better the woman who makes The Beca Effin Mitchell fall in love head over heels."

In half-annoyance, Beca rolls her eyes and scolds, "I'm so not adorable Em. And I was going to name her Cube, a badass name. But Ashley was the one who insisted that since it's mine, we should add Be in front of it. So, Becube it is."

"It's a her?" Emily asks comically before barking out another loud laughter with tears pooling in the corner of her eyes.

Beca smiles softly and says, "Sometimes I forgot that you and Ashley are the same age."

After her laughter turns into a soft smile, Emily says, "She loves you Beca. And she's good for you. Fight for her."

"I will." Beca smiles. But then a teasing smirk appears on her face as she mocks, "I see you don't mind having a step mother then Kid."

Then Emily burst into a laughter again before saying, "Don't ever say that again Pop. It's freakishly weird. She's one of my best friends. Waaay too weird."

Beca burst into a laughter too. This is one of the things that she likes from hanging out with Emily, lots of laughter.

"Now, let's get you back to the hotel." Emily says once the laughter unwind. "You can check out of the hotel, and then we can go have lunch before heading to my place."

Beca nods to respond, asks for the bill, and pays for it before they left.


There it is, the chapter 10. In the next chapter, you're still going to see Emily a lot. And there will be Chloe and Ashley too.

Until then, sit tight and make good choices.

Thank you for reading. :)