"We are not allowed to use the toilet in the bus after eating this 'cause it is gonna be straight explosive," Bumper says, his mouth chock full of medium-spice jalapeño burrito goodness.

The Trebles will be leaving for the semi-finals soon, but not before Bumper gets his daily dose of Mexican food, with Donald and Unicycle accompanying him (to make sure he doesn't over-splurge on the beans; god forbid what would come of that).

"I could eat these everyday."

"You do." The two chaperones both say at the same time.

"Jinx, bitch... Double jinx... Buy me a coke... holy crap, call Guinness... shit!... OH MY GOD!" The two of them are of one mind and soul as they each state exactly what the other does, at the same time, while Bumper looks at them unamused.

"Please don't do that in front of girls. Please. I am begging you."

They all get into Donald's car to meet up with the rest of the Trebles in the Treble bus, exclusively hand-painted by the maiden virgins of Barden University and furnished by the entire College of the Arts as an offering to Bumper's vocal pipes, his gift to the world (or so, according to Treble history as narrated by Bumper).

Benji had wanted to hitch a ride with them, not even for his love of the Trebles, but for his love for the environment, classic Benji. Jesse had hated that his friend always had to be left out. He hated that the group is controlled by a burrito-toting egomaniac, but what's he gonna do? You wanna play the game, you gotta know the rules.

On the other side of the school, the Bellas prepare for their departure. The bus was rented extra early this time, but the Bellas are taking no chances, which is why they are boarding the bus at the other side of campus ("To minimize sabotage," Fat Amy had suggested.) Unfortunately, luck is not on their side, as it never is. Not two miles out, they are in need of a fill, and they stop by the last gas station for miles before they head back on the road.

"Okay, don't you flat-butts worry, I got this. I'm just gonna pump and dump."

As Fat Amy heads down to fill their tank, Chloe moves to sit beside Beca, just about to fix her long hair for tonight.

"Hey."

"Hi."

"How are you?"

Fucking shit, not this again.

"I'm good."

"Good."

And Chloe sits there so awkwardly, staring straight ahead, that Beca knows that this is what she's been gunning for all along, the sneaky bitch.

Oh, for fuck's sake.

While Bumper goes on and on about his mancrush on Sisqo, Jesse's mind is on other things...

I didn't mean for... whatever it is that I did to push her away, Jesse thinks to himself.

"I mean, it's... not his fault," Beca tells Chloe beside her, who is looking straight ahead, nodding at what she's saying. "I-" Beca doesn't know how to start. She doesn't even turn to look at Chloe, being so absorbed at the complexities of it all...

There are some things that I just don't understand about her. And sometimes, there are little hints...

"I don't know," Beca muses. "I don't know..."

...that sometimes makes me feel that she's closer than she lets on.

"It's not his fault. I know that, I do. But sometimes, I just..."

And that gives me hope. Because as much as she tries not to lead me on...

"I can't-I don't-"

...the fact that she has to try, already means something, doesn't it?

"I'm-" Beca does not know how to end the sentence that would state what she wants. She thinks and thinks, and blurts out what she has come up with.

"I like him but I can't... be with him," she says, finally turning to Chloe, who looks startled as she pulls out an earbud hidden behind her long hair.

"Oh, sorry, what was that?"

Beca sighs. Her mind is working on a plausible solution for her predicament with Jesse, but there's something missing about her computation. She likes him, yes. She cares for him... perhaps (of course). Does she want him... no (a lot). Does she want to be with him... and that is where things get a little more muddled than she would like. She's always been confident about what she wants, but things with Jesse had taken a turn into unfamiliar territory; a place where she is seriously incapable of choosing, because her choices had always favored her instinct to emotionally survive. She had always wanted what would be easier, keep her from vulnerabilities that had so traumatized her in the past. When her wants come into conflict with her preprogrammed penchant for emotional survival, her brain goes into syntax error, unable to compute what to do next.

"I don't care what you say. Cisqo live, best performance ever, I've ever seen. 'Thong Song' isn't his only hit, alright. I'm serious..."

"Yo, Bumper, is that Fat Amy?"

And that is how the burrito escapade begins: Bumper screaming 'Sabotage!' and Fat Amy getting shot in the chest with Zippy's Extra Zingy Jalapeño Burrito Special.

"I've just been shot!" Fat Amy slumps beside the bus, fully aware of the blood-like chili splattered all over her white Bellas shirt uniform. Well, I won't be able to rip this open later.

"Oh my god, what happened!" Aubrey shrieks, as they usher a mad, dirty, Fat Amy onto the bus.

"Bumper," Cynthia Rose responds.

"It was a sabotage. He's dead meat to me... I'll make a T-bone out of him," Fat Amy huffs, nearly breathless with the promise of revenge (steak) on her lips.

"That dicklick." Aubrey cannot contain her own personal pet name for him. Beca's brows raise at that.

They help Fat Amy clean up, and before soon, they are back on the road, waiting to hopefully kick those Trebles in the competition later.

AN: Part one of two, from the bus scenes. One of the best extended scenes.

Next up: The Trebles and Bellas with some pre-competition warmups.

Coming soon: The holiday transitions, as according to Jesse and Beca