Sorry I haven't updated in a couple of days I've been busy :/ I'm on spring break this week so I should make up for that! I plan on bringing Aubrey and Chloe into the story for good now, they won't just be filtering in and out anymore! I hope you enjoy the chapter and I hope you all have a happy Easter! (:
Right as I stepped off the stage I was wrapped up in a big hug, my face was pressed up against a jacket which was constricting my airways. "Wow, baby, that was amazing! I didn't realize how good you guys are! I'm so proud of you!" Lincoln was squeezing me tightly while he babbled on about our performance.
I snaked my arm around his waist and patted his back, "Icantbreath...LincolnIcantbreath."
He pulled me back when he realized what i was saying, "Sorry, but seriously you guys are so great!" he tilted my chin up so he could kiss me. I deepened the kiss and he pulled us closer together.
'If I don't want to see Beca and Jesse making out I sure as hell don't want to see you two," my sister was beaming at me as she gave Fat Amy a congratulatory hug. Chloe and the other bellas were dancing with the trophy a few feet off. "But you guys did aca-awesome! I'm so proud of you, Amber!" she pulled me into a hug. "Looks like Beca knows what she's doing after all."
"I'm offended that you never believed in me!" Beca walked over with a huge grin on her face clutching Jesse's hand. He wasn't a sore loser but he didn't look his happiest. "I've helped the Bellas beat the Trebles twice in a row now-"
An upset Jesse interrupted her, "Yeah, well we're gonna win in the end so I'll let you have this trophy."
She raised her eyebrow and turned towards her boyfriend after dropping his hand, "Excuse me? I don't need you to give me anything." Here we go, I knew the competition was going to come between them.
Jesse stood his ground and glared down at his girlfriend, "I'm just saying that I'm not gonna step aside and let you win the ICCA's just because your my gir-"
"Did I ask you to go easy on us? No. If you wanted to go easy on us tonight you probably wouldn't have placed at all. By all means, I don't want to ruin your a cappella dreams," a dark red flush was creeping up Beca's neck.
Aubrey, Lincoln, and I looked at them both with our mouths slightly open, it was like watching a tennis match. Beca and Jesse had been slightly rocky lately, nothing too serious I thought, I had hoped it was just the over looming threat of the competition. It seemed like this might be their breaking point. Jesse was ready to come back with a venomous remark when a bubbly red-head popped up. "You both made it to the semi-finals! That's fantastic!" She slung her arms around both of their necks and they glared at each other around her head.
She smiled happily at her friends around her, "Oh, Bree did-" it was then that she noticed the tension between the said "love birds." Quickly sliding her arms off their necks she looked confusedly around at the rest of us. "Aaah...Should the Bellas go out to eat tonight...yes, yes let's go. Amber, Lincoln, Aubrey," She reached out to Lilly who was walking past at that moment," Lilliy." She shuffled us all off the stage making the awkward moment even more awkward.
After all the Bellas were corralled Chloe herded us out the door, "We're going to Ruth's Chris and don't worry Aubrey and Amber are paying because they're rich." The escalating voices of Beca and Jesse followed us out of the theater, Chloe cast an anxious glance over her shoulder.
Beca: Where are you guys?
Me: Ruth's Chris. Are you okay?
Beca: I'll be there in a couple of minutes.
Me: You didn't answer my question.
Beca: We'll talk about it when we're home.
"Any one know where Beca is?" Cynthia Rose asked distractedly as her steak was placed in front of her. She rubbed her hands together greedily before picking up her fork and digging in.
Looking up from my phone with a look of concern on my face I answered, "She'll be here in a minute." I worriedly glanced back at my phone checking for any new texts from my best friend. Chloe seemed to share the same concerns I had, she tapped my foot under the table to get my attention. A raised eyebrow was her wordless question, I shrugged my shoulders in response.
"You really have quite the impressive vocal range, Samantha." I looked at my sister next to me, always overly formal in the beginning of a relationship.
"You can just call me Sam, everyone else does. But thanks, Aubrey!" She smiled happily down at her plate a little embarrassed by the compliment I told her was so hard to come by.
"Sammy, you must be a goddess in Bree's eyes, I've never heard her give a compliment after hearing one song," I leaned past Aubrey and stabbed a brussel sprout off Sam's plate. She looked up angrily at my theft, I had dared to steal her precious sprout! " You want it back?" I motioned to my full mouth.
"Keep it, Piggy."
"I am not that hard to please!" An offended Aubrey announced to the table. Every one immediately disagreed with her.
"You really are, it took you seven years to finally decide we we're best friends! You told me you had finally "evaluated the situation enough to decide" what seven-year old talks like that?" Chloe's smile split her face in half as she looked across the table at Aubrey.
"You didn't like Paris when we went for summer."
"You didn't like mermaid dancing."
"You didn't like me," eyes rimmed with red, Beca walked over to our table and sat down in the open chair next to me. She grabbed my hand and held it in her lap. The table was thrown into silence as we all took in her appearance.
Aubrey decided to break the silence,"I love you now though!"..."So you guys should start planning your semi-finals set!"
It was 1:45 when Stacie finally left the apartment, Beca, Aubrey, and I were picking up before we went to bed, Chloe had crawled off to bed at 12. I walked over to Beca and pulled her down on the couch with me, Aubrey tentatively sank down by our feet. "Are you gonna tell us what happened, babe?" I pulled her closer to me when she started to shake.
"We broke...he said...i threw the...still love him." That was all I was able to comprehend of her story as she sobbed against my neck slowly soaking my collar. Aubrey fidgeted uncomfortably at the end of the couch, she was twisting her hands in her lap causing her knuckles to turn white. She had never been good with emotions.
I stroked Beca's hair trying to get her to calm down so she could talk clearer, I nodded at Aubrey, then at the door trying to tell her to go to bed. She understood, got up, made it halfway to the door before she turned around, glanced back at Beca and then went into the room. "So you two broke up?" i prompted when her sobbing minimized a little. She whimpered a yes into my tear soaked hair.
"What did he say?"
Right before she got to answer me we were interrupted as Jesse burst into the room looking extremely distraught. He stumbled over to me with tears in his eyes and tried to lift Beca off my lap, I held her tightly as I glared at him. I'd never hated any one this much until I saw him walk in this room. "Please" he pleaded with me.
Beca disentangled herself from me and stood up in front of him. He looked a little relieved then Beca's fist collided with the side of his head, he collapsed into a pile on the floor. Apparently Beca has to punch some one after every regional's competition. "I need to talk to him, I'll see you in the morning." she huskily whispered to me with a light pat on my arm. I glanced down at her hand on my arm, it already had bruises on it. Nodding I kissed her on the cheek and went off to my room.
30 minutes later I collapsed into bed next to Aubrey who dragged me over to cuddle with her. "These nights never end right," she sighed into my ear.
"Well no one got arrested this time...unless Beca murders Jesse."
"They did suddenly stop yelling..."
My door burst open and a half-awake Chloe dragged herself into the room and sprawled out on the bed next to me. She snuggled down in the blankets prepared to go to sleep without a single word. "Umm...Chloe? Care to explain?"
She slowly lifted her head then grunted, "Make-up sex," letting her face fall back into my pillow she moved in closer to me. All of the sudden she lifted her head again, "Bree, did you tell her?" after losing whatever energy she gathered her head fell back on the pillow again.
"Amber! Amber! Amber! I got a job as a dance instructor, it's five minutes from campus! I'm moving back!"
"Me too," Chloe groaned from her pillow.