The next few hours were a blur. Conversations about the future, the displacement of clothes, trying to keep quiet and the giggles from a bubbly redhead. Beca felt like a teenager again, sneaking out of her window at 2 am in the dead of night. Of course every time she tried to sneak out she'd fall into the bushes outside her window, but that was beside the point. She felt so many things, even though feelings weren't her forte. Happiness was always a foreign concept to her, after her parents divorced she questioned everything and could never understand what it truly meant to be happy. Sure there had been moments of happiness, but never really the everlasting feeling. This time she was sure she figured out what it meant to be happy. Laying in the arms of a now sleeping redhead made the younger girl smile. Tomorrow they would get the opportunity to sit down with their best friends and tell them that they decided to work it out, that Beca was staying and that they could all go home. Since they forced her out here in the first place she was grateful that even though her best friends meddled in her love life, they actually cared about her. Beca nodded off to sleep thinking about what tomorrow would be like the phone calls she would have to make to inform all of the Bellas who weren't here and the endless questions from Stacie and Amy about why it "took her so long to get her head out of her ass" as Aubrey says. For the first night in months sleep was something that embraced Beca with open arms.
"Well what do we have here?" Aubrey was leaning against the door with the Bellas closely behind her. She could hear snickering but was trying to remain serious and get down to the bottom of whatever activities took place last night while they were peacefully sleeping in the room down the hall. The first time she spoke the two sleeping girls didn't hear her, which wasn't a surprise since Beca slept like a dead person. She learned that the hard way, trying to wake up the alt girl was one of the most challenging things she's ever dealt with.
"Hello, earth to Bloe!" CR had to hold Amy back, as she was seconds from jumping up and down on Chloes bed to wake them up.
"What's going on?" Beca could feel Chloe moving in bed but she didn't want to move. By the time things settled down last night it was nearly 5am and who knows what time it was now. The way Aubrey worked it was probably 7 and the whole day would be scheduled for cardio. Chloe shuffled around in the blankets and when she finally opened her eyes she froze.
"Beca." The younger girl didn't respond, naturally. Chloe had a panicked tone in her voice.
"Beca, you need to get up right now." Chloe was now shoving the younger girl and as much as she loved her, she wanted to punch her as hard as she could. She wanted to sleep, not be shaken to death.
"I'm up, what is it?" Beca didn't even have her eyes open, she just rolled over and threw her arms Chloes body, which now had been clothed. "Is it lunch time yet?" The younger girl started to laugh, but nothing about the situation they were in was a laughing matter. Sure, Chloe had been in plenty of awkward situations and she usually shook them off but this time she was trying to hide her embarrassment.
"Well, I guess our job here is done." Aubrey turned on her heels and headed back to the living room to pick up the mess the girls had made after they decided to have a sleepover, just like they decided at the retreat. Pillows were scattered everywhere, scrapbooks from Chloes college years and endless photos of the Bellas. What stuck out in Aubreys mind the most about this situation was Chloe. She watched the redhead fall in love with Beca and even though at first she didn't approve, she now understood 100%. There was a page in Chloes scrapbook that was all photos of Beca. The title of page "The Mastermind of the New Bella Sound" sure there was few Bellas in the background of photos, but it was all Beca. Working on mixes, laughing with those ridiculous headphones around her neck, at the studio working with Emily and a selfie with Snoop Dogg. It would be impossible for Chloe to love anyone else, especially with the heart she had. Aubrey smiled and closed the scrapbook. She could hear Fat Amy talk about the mess they made and that "the fiesty ginger would be angry if they left a mess when she woke up" she was right and the blonde wasted no time bossing the Bellas around to clean.
Chloe knew that there would be an insane amount of questions and she needed Beca to help with the answers. A small doubt crept in her mind and she wasn't sure that Beca was sure about what she said last night. Of course in the moment you could say anything and it be true, but after the sun comes up and you've thought about it, does it always remain true? An integration wasn't what they needed, they needed time. But when all of your best friends are staying just down the hall space and time wasn't something you could just have. Chloe could hear the younger girl snoring, which was a sure sign that she was exhausted. She removed the comforter and slowly got out of bed to observe her surroundings. Clothes were all over the floor, the bed was a mess, Becas computer was playing music and Chloes phone had 18 missed messages.
"Becs, get up. Help me clean up this mess and then we need to talk to the Bellas." Chloe threw a shirt at the younger girl, who was now stretching and making what Chloe called "baby dinosaur noises". This day was sure to be an adventure with all of the discussions they had coming.
"Need…" Beca was already yawning before she could finish her sentence but Chloe knew exactly what she was asking for. If Beca Mitchell didn't have her coffee it was like dealing with Aubrey the day before a Bella competition.
"Help me clean up this mess you were so determined to create last night and I'll get you some coffee. Please?" The redhead flashed those baby blues and Beca couldn't do anything but follow the redheads instructions.
After the girls cleaned up the disaster they made the night before, Beca decided that she needed to shower before getting a million questions thrown at her. She gathered what clothes of hers she could find through the pile that the older girl made in the corner of the room and walked into the bathroom. Instead of barricading herself in the shower like she did her first year at Barden, she left the door open. Naturally she started singing, which was an open invitation for the older girl to sing as well. Beca knew that Chloe was stressed, for whatever reason she had no idea. But after taking her time in the shower, admiring her various scratches and bruises from the night before she could tell that her favorite redhead was seconds from losing it. She didn't know whether to ask or just let it pass. Whatever it was it was clearly bothering the older girl. She wouldn't look at Beca and every time she spoke her voice was calm and quiet - two words that were never used to describe the redhead.
"Chloe, is something wrong?" Beca decided that it was time to face the problem head on because fumbling around the older girls room trying not to make eye contact wasn't working. Beca was usually the one running away from problems, but things were different this time, she could feel the stress and could see all the emotions Chloe was feeling. The older girl stopped brushing her hair, took a quick glance at herself in the mirror and walked over to the bed to sit. Whatever was going on had Beca freaking out internally. Was she regretting last night? Does she still want her to stay? Should they have talked things out before creating the mess they were in now? The questions Beca had in her mind were slowly making her doubt everything she said and did last night. Although doubting kissing Chloe Beale for that long was ridiculous, anyone could kiss her but she chose Beca.
"Did you mean everything we talked about last night? I don't want you waking up after the Bellas leave only to realize that you didn't mean any of it. I know this makes me sound like a jerk, but I want you to be sure." Beca could tell that Chloe was having a hard time speaking. She had her hands in her lap, playing with a ring she stole from Beca in her senior year. Usually the redhead was confident in everything she did - that included interrupting people showers. This was a side of Chloe that very few people got to witness - stumbling over her words, avoiding eye contact and stressed to the point of tears.
"Of course I did. Is that why you've been acting weird?" Beca put her hands on Chloes cheeks, making it impossible for the older girl to look anywhere else. "Dude, I'm right here. I don't plan on leaving, except for Christmas and I'd like to go back home to see our family, if that's alright with you." Beca knew the exact words to say to make Chloe feel like a brand new person, even though she still had her doubts. She kissed the older girl and walked to the door that separated her from the Bellas, who by now were chomping at the bit to get all of the details about the hookup and apparent conversation about Becca staying.
"Are you ready to announce to the world that we finally got our shit together?" Chloe laughed and stood up, grabbing Becas Barden sweatshirt. She fixed her hair, smiled and took Becas hand.
"Let's do this." The two girls walked out of Chloes bedroom hand in hand, ready to face the wild pack of Bellas waiting for details.