A/N: sorry for the delay, guys. Heres the next chapter and i hope it makes up for the wait :)
"I'm never drinking again.." Chloe slowly sat up on her bed, squinting her eyes at the offending light that was beaming its way through the window. The redhead looked over at the clock on her desk and groaned when she saw that it was only 6:30 a.m. She shuffled her way out of her room, down the hall and into the kitchen. Chloe was surprised to see her mother there sitting on the table.
"Well, looks who's finally awake." Kelly folded her arms and watched her daughter slowly make her way over to the fridge. She stood up from her seat and made an effort to make as much noise as possible as she dragged the chair roughly against the tiled kitchen floor.
Chloe slammed her hand on the counter, the other shooting its way up to her throbbing temple.
"Mom! S-stop!" Chloe shot a glare at her mother who simply shrugged.
"That's what happens when you come home drunk! What were you thinking?!" Kelly walked over to Chloe. The redhead sighed and turned around to brew her coffee.
"I went out with my friends to get my mind off things-"
"Is this about Beca?"
Chloe shut her eyes and sighed, "Yes, mom. So please excuse me for being heart broken."
Kelly placed her hand on Chloe's shoulder, "Honey, you can't let a breakup lead you to doing this to youself. It isn't a healthy way of getting over it."
Chloe spun around to look at her mother, "I love her, mom. I don't wanna get over it."
"Then you should be out there trying to win her back."
Chloe let out a hallow laugh, "It's not that simple, I can't. I broke up with her. I have my reasons and I stand by them.."
"But you still love her don't you? That's all that should matter, honey. You both need to prove that there's no one else more perfect for the two of you than each other." Kelly handed Chloe two Advil's. The redhead smiled sweetly at her mother.
"I've done my part. She needs to show me this time."
"Then she better get on with it. You need to show her what she'll be missing out on."
Chloe watched as Kelly made her way back down the hall. The redhead poured herself a glass of water and popped the two pills into her mouth.
"You're still going to school!" Kelly yelled from the hallway.
Chloe let out a groan before walking back to her room to get ready for the day.
Beca hummed along to the beat of her most recent mix. She carelessly stuffed her books into her locker before shutting it and walking down the hall to head over to Jesse's locker. As she turned the corner she was met with a face full of red hair and a sudden pain on her forehead from the collision. Beca shook her head rapidly to focus her blurred vision before looking down at the redhead on the floor.
"Oh shit, Chloe, I'm really sorry." The photographer bent down and grabbed Chloe by the arm to help her up.
"Mainly my fault. I wasn't paying attention." Chloe chuckled. The redhead smiled when Beca rubbed the back of her neck and averted her eyes.
"Uh, so did you..get home alright? Last night?" Beca asked, although, she knew the answer to that, she wanted to be certain that Josh was being a complete gentleman.
"Oh! Right. Yeah, Josh took me home. I had a little spat with my mom but we worked it out this morning." Chloe said, it suddenly hit her that her drunk self had said some very harmful things the previous night.
"Oh my god, Bec. I'm so sorry-"
Beca furrowed her eyebrows, "What do you mean?"
"I was such a bitch last night! Oh my god! I didn't mean to be, oh god! You must hate me!-"
Beca chuckled, "Woah, calm down. It's all good. I don't hate you."
Chloe bit her lip, "I wouldn't blame you if you did.."
"I don't, Chlo," Beca reassured, "You were right. Josh isn't any of my business-"
"He's no one! I was just upset and he was really sweet-"
Beca shook her head, "You don't need to explain yourself to me, it's fine. You're free to see whoever you want..that's kinda how breakups work."
Chloe nodded slowly, "I guess."
Beca pointed behind her, "I better go. Remember, if you're ever in trouble-"
"I know where to find you." Chloe smiled. Beca nodded before turning around to continue walking over to Jesse's locker.
Chloe continued her walk to her locker before stopping in her tracks when she remembered something.
"Shit, my phone!" The redhead spun on her heels and jogged over to Aubrey's locker.
Beca landed on the roof of a building in the city, she steadied herself on the ledge. The hero looked down and saw Chloe crossing the street. She wasn't stalking her. No. She was making sure the redhead was alright. She was making sure that Chloe remained out of harms way. Beca continued to watch the redhead as she joined Aubrey and Stacie in a table in front of the new chinese restaurant, Fortune.
Beca let out a sigh, "I wish it wasn't this hard." The hero felt her temple buzz, she looked down and saw three police cars criss crossing in the street as they followed after a green car. Beca leaped off the ledge and followed the high speed chase.
Chloe looked up at the all too familiar sound of a web being shot, she frowned when she didn't see the masked vigilante anywhere in sight. Aubrey tapped her chopsticks on Chloe's plate.
"Were you even listening to me?" The blonde rolled her eyes.
Stacie found herself casually looking up at the sky, sure enough wanting to see the hero.
Chloe nodded, "Yeah, Bella's at Barden University."
"Yeah, we should definitely audition when we go there for college." The blonde took a sip of her water. She turned to Stacie and rolled her eyes when the brunette had her eyes trained on the sky.
"Will you stop. What's your deal with Beca?"
Stacie snapped her eyes back down and furrowed her eyebrows.
"Aren't you a bit anxious? Ever since we found out about her I can't help but feel a bit worried."
Aubrey sighed, "I know she saved me, I'm grateful for that, but, this is her life style choice and we can't spend all our time worrying about her," The blonde sighed when she saw the shocked look on Stacies face, "I'm not saying I don't care. Believe it or not, I worry about the Hobbit every time I see her on the news. She knows what she signed up for the second she puts that mask on...she'll be fine."
Chloe pursed her lips and looked down at her food. The redhead bit her lip and shook her head.
"I broke up with her. Why can't I keep myself from worrying so much."
Stacie leaned across the table and held her friends hand.
"You love and care about her-"
"I shouldn't, Stace!" Chloe snapped. The redhead released her hand from Stacie's grip and ran her fingers through her hair.
"I love her. But, I shouldn't. It was always me actually making an effort in the relationship-"
"Chlo, that's not true. You know she loved you." Aubrey chimed in. She may have slightly disliked the small brunette but she had no doubt that Beca loved her best friend.
"Then why did it feel like I was always giving it my all while she kept me at arms length?" Chloe shot back, swirling the ice cubes in her water with the straw.
Stacie shook her head, "That's not fair, Chloe. You need to put yourself in her shoes. She wouldn't want anything happening to you-"
"Alright, who's side are you on?" Chloe snapped. Stacie leaned further back into her chair at the sudden outburst.
Chloe placed her hand on Stacies arm, "I'm sorry. I've just been really upset about all this. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
Stacie grinned and shook her head, "It's fine. I get it."
Aubrey's eyes darted between the two girls, she intertwined her fingers and rested her hands on the table.
"Let's just forget about this for now, okay?"
Chloe and Stacie nodded. The three friends resumed to the meals, quickly changing the subject back to the previous topic.
Amy plopped herself down on Jesse's couch. Beca took a seat on the floor, her back resting against the couch. Jesse sat down on the space next to Amy. They each grabbed an xbox controller and started their game of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
"So did you guys study for that math test tomorrow?" Jesse asked, his fingers smashing different buttons as he helped his friends kill the opposing team.
Amy snorted, "Why don't you ask my text book that's still somewhere under my bed?"
Jesse chuckled, "Bec, how 'bout you?"
Beca quickly switched weapons before responding.
"A little bit. I haven't had too much time..y'know with saving civilians and all that jazz."
Jesse nodded and smirked, "I guess that means I'll be helping you guys cheat."
Amy lightly tapped her foot on Jesse's thigh.
"I like to think of it more as team work."
Beca rolled her eyes, "Which is something we're really lacking right now-Amy behind you!"
The blonde moved the joystick in a 180 motion and shot the enemy behind her.
"See..team work."
After about an hour of playing, they moved to the kitchen to satisfy their hunger. Beca leaned forward on the kitchen island and scrolled through her instagram.
"Hmm...I have pizza rolls if you guys want that?" Jesse asked as he looked through the stuff in the freezer. Amy nodded along with Beca. The boy took the bag and ripped it open, pouring its contents onto a tray and sliding it in the oven.
"So how's it going with Chloe?" Jesse asked, folding his arms and leaning back against the fridge. Amy tore her eyes away from her snapchat to look at the photographer.
Beca pursed her lips, "It's complicated. I saw her with some guy Josh last night and..I dunno. She seems to have-she told me today that it wasn't anything serious but still..she was with him."
Amy tapped her fingers against the counter.
"Yeah, I saw Stacie's pictures. She looked like she was having a lot of fun-"
Jesse swatted the blondes arm.
"I mean, she looked like she was having a lot of...rum."
Beca raised her eyebrow, "Nice save."
Amy walked over to Beca, "You need to stop thinking negative! You got ginger to fall in love with you once..what makes you think you can't do it again?"
"It's not that simple."
"Do you need some confidence? I can maybe tone mine down a notch.." Amy shrugged.
"Y-yeah, okay.." Beca straightened herself as Amy turned away to rub her hands together. The brunette braced herself when Amy turned back around, relaxing when the blonde simply "wiped" confidence on her head.
"Thanks, Amy."
"Wait...you need a bit more." Amy rubbed her hands against her armpits and patted Beca on the cheeks.
"I'm feeling the love, dude." Beca chuckled.
"Then this is gonna make you feel Cupid's love." Amy reached behind her and Beca shook her head rapidly.
"No! I don't want butt confidence!"
"Don't fight the love!" Amy wrapped her arms around Beca, laughing when the brunette let out a squeal.
Jesse shook his head, "I need new friends."
The next day, Beca and Amy walked out of their math class with pained expressions. Jesse wrapped his arms around their shoulders as they made their way to Beca's locker.
"That test was brutal." Beca muttered.
Amy nodded, "Sucks that the teacher actually monitored us. I could barely lean to the side without having him look in my direction."
Jesse laughed, "You can always retake it.."
Beca put in her combination, opening her locker and taking out her gym shirt. She slipped the red shirt over her head, grabbing a handful of the shirt from the side of the hem and tied it with her hair tie. Once her shirt was no longer baggy, she shut her locker and leaned against it.
Beca glanced at the end of the hall, doing a double take when she saw Chloe walking to her locker. The brunette ducked her head and squeezed her eyes shut. She looked back up to see Chloe already looking at her.
Beca offered Chloe a small wave, earning a grin and a wave in return. Amy turned her head and raised her eyebrow.
"You know, people say hi to each other nowadays." The blonde smirked.
Beca scoffed, "I just said hi. You saw me."
"Verbally." Jesse chimed in. Beca looked back over at Chloe, the redhead had her back towards them while she rummaged through her locker for her science book.
The photographer inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly before walking across the hall to Chloe.
"..Hey."
Chloe turned around and smiled, "Hi, Beca." She looked back at her locker while the brunette stood there thinking of what to say next.
Beca leaned sideways, her balanced suddenly betraying her and causing her to bang on the lockers with the side of her face. Chloe shot her head back towards Beca when she heard the loud bang, seeing the brunette smiling innocently while her elbow rested against the locker and her hand tangled itself in her hair.
"Uh..wh-how's it going?"
Chloe raised her eyebrow at the nervous tone in Beca's voice.
"..I've been good. What about you?" Chloe shut her locker and folded her arms, suddenly interested in this new side of Beca.
"That's good. I've been good. Everything's good." Beca bit her lip, mentally kicking herself in the face for sounding so awkward.
Chloe tilted her head to the side, "That's...good."
Beca nodded, she glanced over at Amy and Jesse who were covering their faces with their hands.
Chloe cleared her throat after a long pause.
"Did you need something or..."
Beca's eyes widened when she realized the conversation seemed to be going nowhere.
"Right! Um...I was just-I wanted to talk?"
Chloe blinked, "Are you asking me or telling me?"
"Uh..telling." Beca stood up straight and fiddled with her fingers.
"Alright, so what's up?" Chloe asked amusedly.
"Do you maybe wanna hang out sometime?-"
"Bec.." Chloe sighed.
Beca raised her hands up, "No expectations, I promise. I just..I just miss you and I wanna catch up."
Chloe sucked in a breath and exhaled through her nose, biting the inside of her cheek as she considered Beca's offer.
"Alright."
Beca's face lit up, "Awesome. Okay, I'll text you."
Chloe nodded, "Sounds good."
"Good."
Chloe chuckled before saying goodbye and walking past the brunette to head to her next class.
Beca skipped her way over to her friends.
"That went well."
Amy nodded, "Better than well...it was good."
Jesse tried to hold in a laugh, "Very good."
Beca rolled her eyes, "Let's hurry to class before I web your asses to the side of the school."
"Will you answer him already?!" Stacie tossed Chloe's phone over to the redhead. The redhead looked down at the multiple texts from Josh.
Chloe sighed, "Why should I?"
Aubrey scoffed, "He's hot and interested. That's two reasonable reasons."
Chloe rolled her eyes and fell backwards onto her bed, "I don't know if I'm interested, though."
The blonde crawled onto the bed and laid on her stomach beside Chloe.
"Of course you're interested. You're just worried about what Beca might think."
Chloe turned her head to face Aubrey, "I told her he wasn't anyone to worry about.."
Stacie plopped down on the other side of Chloe, "Who cares? You're a free woman! No longer tied down."
The redhead's mouth twitched up into a small smile.
"I liked being tied down.."
Stacie groaned, "It's like having the same flavor of ice cream for the rest of your life. Why stick to Vanilla Bean when theres chocolate, strawberry, rocky road, even napoleon!"
Chloe snorted, "Vanilla Bean is my favorite flavor."
Aubrey sighed, "Chlo, if you feel this way then why did you end it with Vanilla Bean?"
Chloe shrugged, "Vanilla Bean seemed too concerned that my dad didn't like that flavor."
Stacie laughed, "Alright, enough with the metaphors!"
Aubrey smiled, "What does she need to prove?"
Chloe shook her head, "Nothing. I just need to know if she's willing to put an effort in the relationship despite what my dad thinks."
A/N: I hope this was worth the wait :). Let me know your thoughts or concerns about the chapter. Question Time: Should Chloe try things out with Josh? Why?
I'll be continuing with TASM2 plot shortly. Thanks for sticking with me this far, guys! Really means a lot. Have a good one :)
