Friday came in a blink of an eye and before she knew it, Beca was standing in front of her mirror readjusting the bellas scarf that was wrapped tightly around her neck. With an eye roll and a muttered, "whatever", she gathered her things and left her room to meet Amy and the girls outside in the Bellas bus.

"I just need to pump and dump and then we can hit the road." Amy announced as she brought the bus to a gentle stop beside the gas station.

Stacie looked up from her nails that she had been filing for the past ten minutes and looked over at Aubrey who was sitting in the front seats with Chloe. The sultry brunette bit her lip and slid out of her seat to walk over to the row of seats behind the captains.

"So about these uniforms." Stacie chimed into their conversation, making Chloe and Aubrey turn their heads around, "I was thinking we could add a bit more pizzazz."

Aubrey raised her eyebrow, "Exactly what do you mean?"

Stacie let out a soft growl and rolled her eyes.

"Sweetheart, you have us waltzing around like flight attendants. I may not have an idea yet but I'm sure it'll put some sass into the pencil skirts."

Aubrey felt her jaw drop in offense, "They do not-"

Chloe let the girls argue amongst themselves as she stood up from her seat to walk over to beca who was scrolling through her Spotify playlist.

"Hey." Chloe greeted once she plopped down beside the brunette. Once the word was out in the air, Chloe kinda felt uneasy.

Beca pulled an ear bud out of her ear closest to Chloe and muttered a "hi."

After some back and forth debating between herself and her brain, Beca came to the conclusion that maybe it'll be best to put everything behind her. She didn't like drama. She tried her best to avoid the majority of it during high school, so why shouldn't she now?

"What's up?" Beca added, giving Chloe a tight-lipped smile to try to assure the redhead that the tension was water under the bridge.

Chloe seemed to relax a bit as she responded.

"Bit nervous but excited at the same time." The little giggle that came after her reply made the corners of Beca's lips raise just a bit but enough for Chloe to find herself swooning all over again.

"Was this," Beca gestured to their attire, "really necessary?"

Chloe smiled, "It's tradition."

"Of course it is." Beca playfully rolled her eyes, "How've you been?"

Chloe contemplated the past few days. Her eyes averted to the front of the bus as she muttered an "Um."

"Mostly school work. Other than that, I've just been.."

Beca scrunched her eyebrows just the slightest when the redhead trailed off.

Chloe blinked a few times, an attempt to clear her blurred vision. Just a moment ago she was so sure she was able to do this: talk to Beca like nothing had happened. But now that she was here, sitting next to Beca, Chloe had things to say.

"I'm sorry."

Beca frowned, "Chloe,-"

"No," Chloe reached over and placed a hand on top of Beca's that was resting on her thigh, "please I need you to listen."

Beca nodded, "Okay."

"I was stupid. I was selfish- I, I hurt you and I didn't mean to." Chloe's eyes darted between Beca's as she sucked in what felt to be her last breath because she was sure the next few words she was about to say would for sure kill her. "Beca, I...remember we used to joke about one of us falling for the other? Well, um, kinda not a joke anymore."

Beca blinked and opened and closed her mouth a few times.

"What-?"

A loud thump against the back of the bus followed by a yell from Amy, "I'VE JUST BEEN SHOT!", made everyone in the bus whip their heads back before piling outside.

Beca and Chloe exchanged glances before they followed everyone outside, only to be met with the site of Amy collapsed on the group covered with burrito and Cynthia Rose in the process of giving her mouth-to-mouth.

"I-I'm sitting up!" Amy pushed Cynthia Rose off to the side as she went to sit up against the bus.

Beca flicked some food off of Amy's shoulder, "What the hell happened?"

"Bumper threw a big ass burrito at me!" Amy replied.

Aubrey rubbed her temple and sighed.

"I can't even breathe right now."

Chloe looked around the group concerned.

"We can't just let him get away with this!"

"Chloe's right. The Bellas are out for blood." Stacie stated, stern and serious as she crossed her arms across her chest.

Aubrey shook her head, "Let's keep this professional and save the fight for Nationals-"

"This," Beca pointed at Amy, "is professional?"

Amy shushed them with a wave of her arms and gritted her teeth.

"He'll get what's coming to him, mark my words- I'll finish him like a cheesecake!"

"Um, Amy. You have a little bit of..." Beca tapped lightly behind Amy's ear where a remaining piece of the burrito had been.

Amy flared her nostrils, "Just leave it. It fuels my hate fire."

"Hate fire. Right, gotcha." Beca chuckled lightly before plopping back down in her seat to look back out the window.

Using her peripheral vision, Beca noticed Chloe occasionally glancing her way. There was the familiar feeling in the pit of her stomach, that annoying but fluttery warmth feeling that always seemed to surface at times like these.

After Chloe's sort of confession, Beca couldn't help but feel obligated to provide some sort of response since they were somewhat interrupted with a burrito attack not too long ago. But this was a conversation that she didn't want to have in a bus filled with their closest friends.

Beca secretly watched Chloe secretly watch her, the redhead completely unaware that her so called casual glances weren't so subtle at all.

But Beca would be lying if she didn't enjoy it just the slightest.

Chloe bit her lip when she tore her eyes away from the side of Beca's head once again. She let out a sigh and turned her head over to Aubrey who was looking out the window with pursed lips and scrunched up eyebrows.

Aubrey frowned slightly when she noticed the trees outside were no longer looking like green blurs as the bus began to slow down, the gas pipes spitting the remaining fuel before bringing the girls to a gentle stop.

"What the hell?" Aubrey looked out the window in fear, from the looks of it, they were in the middle of nowhere.

Beca turned towards Amy while the blonde muttered under her breath, something along the lines of, "I may or may not have forgotten to fill up the tank."

"What do you mean you didn't put any gas!" Jessica exclaimed from the back of the bus where she sat beside Ashley.

Amy shrugged her shoulders sheepishly, "Getting hit with a burrito tends to distract you from the task at hand."

"What are we gonna do now?" Aubrey asked, silently praying to the God's above to help them out of this predicament.

Chloe's mind juggled between their limited options.

"Maybe we can call- "

Aubrey raised a steady hand, "NO! Don't even say it, Chloe."

"I don't see why asking The Trebles for help would hurt." Chloe rolled her eyes at her best friends stubbornness and crossed her arms.

"I could call Jesse." Beca suggested, her phone in her hand, ready to dial her friends number.

Aubrey glared over at the freshman, "Absolutely not-"

"Bumper...think you can turn your bus around and pick up a few hitch hikers?...Consider us even after you threw your lunch at me...I'll think about it."

While Amy ended her call with the captain of The Treblemakers, the rest of the Bellas stared at her blankly.

Amy turned to look at them, "What?"

"Why do you have Bumper's number?" Aubrey asked.

Amy averted her eyes, "Uh...uhh.."

"Ready?"

"I guess."

Jesse chuckled before he swiftly swatted Beca's hands that were positioned above his.

"Ow!" Beca raised a fist, "Fucker!"

"You have to dodge it!" Jesse laughed, "Let's go again."

Beca rolled her eyes and raised steady hands above Jesse's with her palms facing down. Jesse teased her by occasionally jolting his hands, making Beca's hands fly up.

Finally, Jesse swatted her hands and Beca yelped in surprise before repeatedly punching him on the shoulder.

"Uncle!" Jesse hollered.

Meanwhile, Chloe watched their interaction from across The Trebles bus with a glare. She was hoping she would steal Beca away long enough to finish their conversation from earlier but the burgundy cladded freshman with the stupid grin was keeping her occupied.

Chloe turned her head to look across from her where Amy and Bumper were arguing about which group would be stealing the show tonight.

"Listen to me carefully, Bumper. You need to grasp onto what I'm about to tell you, okay?" Amy spoke slow and clear while Bumper nodded along. "You guys are gonna get pitch-slapped so hard...your man boobs are gonna concave."

Bumper grinned, he hunched forward and rested his chin on his fist.

"We'll see about that."

Beca stood on stage with a bright smile as she struck the final pose of their number while Amy brought their song to end with a spontaneous shirt tear.

The audience applauded and The Bellas walked off stage with newly found confidence. They were proud of their performance and that earned them the praise of the fans.

"That was great!" Jesse smiled at Beca as she passed, his hands making a heart over his chest.

Beca smirked and nodded before joining her group to watch The Trebles perform.

While Jesse and The Trebles stole the hearts of the crowd with their up beat choreography, Chloe made her way over to Beca and lightly tapped her shoulder.

"Can we talk later?"

"Sure." Beca muttered back.

Chloe smiled warmly before bringing her eyes back to the stage just in time to see Bumper land his signature split as their close.

"I'm waiting for the day he lands wrong and crushes his family jewels." Aubrey walked up behind them and crossed her arms over her chest.

Beca snorted lightly as she watched The Trebles pile off the stage and the announcer walk back on stage.

"Like Amy said: he'll get what's coming to him."

"Now," the announcer spoke into the microphone, "the moment you've all been waiting for!"

The girls crossed their fingers, hoping to hear their name being called as the winners.

"In third place: The sockapellas!" The crowd clapped and the announcer continued to read off the card, "In second: The Barden Bellas!"

Chloe squealed in glee as she hopped up on the balls of her feet while the rest of the girls exchanged high-fives. Aubrey stood to the side with her arms crossed and a small grin on her lips.

"And finally, defending their title, -"

The Trebles hollered just before the announcer can announce their win.

"Fuck." Aubrey growled under her breath as she stared at the winning team with fire in her eyes that made the freshmen of the group take a subtle step away from her.

"We should go out tonight, to celebrate." Stacie announced as The Bellas descended down the flight of stairs backstage. "I'm feeling a bit reckless." The sultry brunette winked at no one in particular but managed to catch the eye of her blonde captain to which she reserved a seductive smirk for her only.

Aubrey composed herself and stood up straight as she stated, "We need to perfect the performance so we don't make the same mistakes again."

"What mistakes exactly?" Cynthia Rose asked, she personally believed that their performance was great, only down side was that The Trebles happened to be better. "We did great tonight. We should celebrate."

The girls agreed and simultaneously implored for their captain to agree with Stacie's idea.

Chloe placed a hand on her best friends shoulder and nodded along, "Come on, Bree. Let your hair down tonight."

Aubrey rolled her eyes and sighed, "Fine."

The girls cheered just as multiple shoutings erupted from across the room where The Trebles began to shove and throw curse words at a group of men who called themselves The Tonehangers.

Beca watched with her mouth agape as Jesse tried to pry their first place trophy out of the hands of the man who was urging him to hit him with it.

"Dude, I don't wanna do that!" Jesse yelled.

"Hit me!" The man yelled back.

Amy raised her fists and made a face that caused Chloe to quickly grab her by the arm, humming a stern, "Uh uh."

"I've wrestled crocodiles and dingos simultaneously."

Chloe looked over at Beca who began to walk down the remaining steps.

"Beca-"

"I'm just gonna check on him." Beca reassured as she walked over to Jesse.

"Come on, man!" Jesse exclaimed, he was growing irritated with this mans persistence but he wasn't a fighter.

The Bellas watched Beca approach the man from the back, shoving him on the shoulder causing him to whip around only to be met with Beca's fist striking him in the face.

Jesse jolted in surprise, "Oh my god! Beca!"

Beca held her swollen fist close to her chest as she winced at the pain while the man quickly composed himself on the floor.

"That's fantastic!" He said as he urgered her to hit him again.

"What's your problem, dude!" Beca didn't know whether to laugh or punch this guy again in hopes of knocking him out.

A familiar yell from behind her made Beca turn around in time to see Amy marching over to assist in the situation.

After screaming about a fat force to be unleashed, Amy grabbed the man by the shoulders and began to wrestle him on the floor.

With the help from Jesse, Beca managed to untangle Amy from the man and pull her back but not before she grabbed the trophy and threatened to stick it up a place that no trophy should ever be.

"Amy! Cease and desist!" Beca yelled, she was grasping onto one piece of the trophy while Amy pulled on the other.

Aubrey held both hands up to her face in an attempt to pry her eyes away but she couldn't help but continue to watch. Chloe had one hand over her mouth, unsure of what she should do.

Finally, with one last tug, Beca felt a snap on the trophy and next thing she knew, the trophy went flying in the air towards the glass behind them.

At that point, the world moved in slow motion as they all watched the trophy shatter the glass.

Beca felt her jaw drop as she continued to clutch tightly on the piece of the trophy in her hand. Her eyes soon found an officer who had been writing a ticket on a car, his attention was grabbed by the ruckus and he began to make his way over.

Amy spotted the officer and was quick to run, "Vertical running!"

"Which way you going?" Donald asked the tonehanger he had been fighting.

"T-That way." He replied. They both, along with the rest of The Trebles and Tonehangers, took off in a full sprint towards the nearest exit.

Jesse stood nearby as he watched the officer pull out a pair of handcuffs as he ushered Beca to turn around.

Beca winced slightly when the cuffs were snapped on rather roughly.

"Chill-"

"Walk." The officer pushed her forward towards the police car that was double parked outside.

Chloe and Jesse made their way outside just as Beca was being shoved into the back seat of the car.

"Shit." Jesse muttered, running his hand through his hair while Chloe pulled out her phone.

"Hi, can I get a taxi from-"

Jesse stepped away to make a call of his own.

"Mr. Mitchell? It's Jesse, um..Beca's in trouble."

Beca's always been told that it's only a matter of time before she was in handcuffs. Not because she was a bad person but because she was always caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So when the chain of the handcuffs around her wrists jingled against the metal bench they had her sitting on, Beca slumped her shoulders in defeat because she shouldn't be surprised.

Beca looked around the precinct, her eyes darting passed cubicles where officers sat filling out paper work. She noticed a few eyes straying in her direction, feeling the judgement in the room as they all secretly labeled her as a misfit.

"Rebecca Mitchell."

Beca turned at the sound of her name and nodded at the woman holding a clipboard.

"That's me."

Officer Bailey raised an eyebrow once she approached Beca and ran her eyes down her attire.

Beca gave her a tight-lipped smile.

"I'm a..Barden Bella."

Bailey nodded, "Well, Barden Bella, you've made bail."

"What?" Beca asked, " But I didn't call anyone-"

"Doesn't matter." Bailey said as she took off the cuffs from Beca's wrists, "I'll take you to the front desk where you will collect your belongs."

Beca had no choice but to do as she was told. She went by the front desk, grabbed a plastic bag labeled "Beca" and made her way outside where she was met with the answer to all her questions. The main question being, who made her bail?

"Chloe?"

Beca's heart dropped to the pit of her stomach when the redhead whipped around, Chloe was still dressed in her Bellas uniform, the scarf hung loosely around her neck and the top buttons of the white shirt were undone for a more comfortable fit. Chloe walked over to Beca and wasted no time to wrap her arms around the DJ's neck.

"God, Mitchell. You almost gave me a heart attack." Chloe pulled away and brought her hands up to craddle Beca's head, her eyes scanning every inch of her in search of any injuries or new tattoos.

Beca smirked at the concern in Chloe's eyes, "Chlo, I'm fine."

"You were arrested." Chloe said in an attempt to remind Beca the reality of the situation. She was surprised Beca was taking this so lightly.

Beca's hands found their way up to Chloe's wrists, her thumbs lightly caressing the strong hands on her cheeks.

"And because of you, I'm out. And I'm beyond grateful for that."

"I don't care what we're going through," Chloe was beginning to lean forward and Beca was noticing this, "I'd drop everything to help you."

Chloe dipped down and crashed her lips onto Beca's in a searing kiss. Her hands remained on Beca's face as she poured her heart out into this one kiss. She was so lost in Beca that she didn't realize the hand that was trying to push her away.

"Chloe." Beca finally said softly when Chloe pulled away, "I can't."

"Beca." Chloe laughed lightly and shook her head.

"I'm with Madison now."

Chloe frowned and took a step back, "Bec-"

"Beca."

The pair turned around and suddenly a rush of fear washed over them.

"Dad." Beca moved passed Chloe but stopped mid way to turn back around to face her, "You called my dad?"

Chloe shook her head, "No. I just came to bail you out-"

"Jesse called me and it's a good thing he did-"

"Dad, I can explain-"

Johnathon had never been this disappointed and it showed on his face. His eyebrows were scrunched forward and his eyes were practically tearing.

"You think after this you have any chance of me letting you go to LA?"

"It's not a big deal! I was protecting my friends!"

"I don't wanna hear it, get in the car." Johnathon pointed at the passenger seat, waiting for Beca to make her way inside the vehicle.

Chloe stood there in shock before she too entered the car, dreading the awkward car ride back to campus.

"Beca, I'm sorry about LA-"

"Not now, Chloe." Beca opened the door to her dorm and smiled almost instantly when she saw The Bellas piled on her side of the room.

"What up, Shawshank!" She heard Amy say while the others greeted her.

"Did you get yourself a bitch?" Cynthia Rose winked.

"Did they have you do that bend-over-and-cough thing?" Stacie asked.

Beca smirked, "Thanks prison, Stacie." She laughed, "Thanks for waiting up for me."

"We care about you." Chloe said, avoiding eye contact with the brunette as she went over to take a seat beside Cynthia Rose on Beca's bed.

Beca watched her go before someone to her left began to approach her.

"They've been here for hours," Kimmy Jin said, "It's a real inconvenience, Beca."

As her lovely roommate exited the room, Beca turned back to the group.

"I think there's something else, other than our second place win, to celebrate." Stacie announced, "Beca popped her cherry! She's a delinquent now."

"She's always been a delinquent." Aubrey shot a playful glare in Beca's direction and the brunette smirked.

"Not the point. But it's another reason to drink! Let's go!"

"Aaay!"

Stacie shot her head up in triumph, a lime slice in between her teeth while a speechless Aubrey laid topless on the bar counter.

It had taken a few shots of tequila and a margarita for Aubrey to even consider having Stacie do a body shot off of her but with the bedroom eyes Stacie had been giving her all night, she warmed up to the idea.

And she's glad she went through with it.

At the other end of the bar, Beca sat nursing her glass of whiskey while she watched her friends rush Jessica on top of the counter while Stacie passed around the tequila.

"You don't seem to be having fun."

Beca turned to her side where Cynthia Rose took a seat on the stool beside her.

"I just have a lot on my mind." Beca replied, the rim of her glass touching her lips before she took one big gulp of the bronze liquid.

"Well it seems we'll be here all night. Care to fill me in?" Cynthia Rose called the bartender over and ordered another round of Black Label.

Beca watched a glass of whiskey slide over to her, coming to a stop just in front of her hand before she nodded and began to tell Cynthia Rose about Chloe and Madison.

Meanwhile, Chloe and Amy threw their heads back as they downed their sixth shot. A wince growing on their faces as the clear liquid made its way down their throats.

"Did Beca swoon over the outfit I picked out for you?" Amy asked, her body coming to a rest against the side of the bar. She looked over Chloe's outfit, a low cut t-shirt and skinny jeans with rips at the knees. Casual, but Chloe killed it.

Chloe chuckled lightly, her head feeling heavy as it lulled to the side.

"She's barely acknowledged me tonight." Chloe shrugged, "Maybe I should just accept the fact that Madison's in and I'm...out."

"I always thought it'll be you two at the end." Amy raised her eyebrows in shock. "Like in one of those cheesy chick-flicks."

"Me too." Chloe sighed, she picked up her glass of wine and took a few sips before she hummed and pointed at Amy. "But doesn't this happen in the movie? Someone new comes along but something always ends up happening?"

The multiple shots she had consumed had finally entered her system, Amy's eyes were hooded and she began to sway back and forth.

"I don't understand."

Chloe, who was feeling a bit handsy already, wrapped an arm around her friend and whispered in her ear.

"Something big needs to happen in order for Beca to question her choices. Something big needs to happen...in order for her to pick me at the end of the movie."

Amy nodded, "Like what?"

Chloe pulled away and gestured at her outfit, "Let's put plan A into action."

Amy watched the redhead march her way towards the other end of the bar where Beca and Cynthia Rose were talking.

Cynthia Rose rubbed her chin as she absorbed the information.

"Damn, Bec. You and Chloe were always so tight, what changed?"

Beca sighed, "She had me waiting too long. At least with Madison, she knows what she wants."

"What do you want?"

Before Beca can answer, she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and red hair came into view.

"Hi." Chloe smiled brightly.

Beca smirked when the aroma of liquor made its way to her sinuses.

"Hi, drunky."

Cynthia Rose laughed, "You doing alright, Red?"

Chloe scoffed at the two, "I'm on top of the world right now, girls."

Cynthia Rose nodded, "Right. Well, I'll leave you two to it. Bec, think about what I said." She winked at the brunette before she walked over to their friends.

Chloe frowned, "What were you two talking about?"

"Nothing." Beca said, "You want some water?"

Chloe shook her head and took the vacant seat beside Beca.

"I wanna talk to you."

Beca scratched the back of her neck, "Chlo, right now? I don't think it's a good idea."

"Bec, right now is perfect." Chloe whined, "Sometimes you just need some liquid courage, right?"

Beca slumped her shoulders in defeat when Chloe made the reference to their encounter during hood night. Chloe knew Beca would relate to needing some sort of encouragement.

"I'm all ears."

A/N: im back! Sorry i took so long. This semester has me a bit occupied. But i found some free time thankfully. How'd you all like the chapter? I want to start getting into how Chloe plans on winning Beca back, how do you think that will go?

Leave some reviews, you all know how I love to read them

see ya in the next chapter!