Chloe stares at her laptop screen in shock.

Everything around her fades away; the music from the playlist Beca made for her, the occasional evening traffic sounds from outside, and even the muted voices of the Bellas downstairs. At this moment, the only thing that matters in the entire world is the email she received ten minutes ago.

Dear Ms. Beale:

Congratulations! Please consider this your formal acceptance to the Brooklyn Animal Care Veterinary Internship program!

We were impressed by your attention to detail in your application, as well as your optimistic attitude and record of community service. What most made you stand apart from other applicants was your impressive amount of leadership experience; we believe this experience makes you uniquely qualified for a potential Intern Manager position with our staff during the duration of your time here.

Though your training will not begin until September 1st, we had several other highly-qualified candidates and would appreciate notice of your acceptance or denial of our offer no later than August 8th.

Please don't hesitate to reach out should you have any questions about the position or the hiring process.

Sincerely,

Brooklyn Animal Care Staff

She's read it end-to-end seven times, the meaning sinking in slowly. She glances at the date in the corner of her laptop screen: August 4th. That gives her four days to decide.

It's not like she really has to consider other offers. Though she'd applied all over the country, the Brooklyn program had been her top choice; their program is the best of those she applied to, and the idea of living in New York sends a thrill of excitement shooting through her. It's novel and ensnaring and something she's wanted for herself for a while.

The only thing that's keeping her from immediately accepting is Beca. Or, more exactly, the relationship she has with Beca and how much it means to her.

Beca has heard back from exactly one of her many job applications so far. Two days ago, a music producer based in Houston, Texas, offered her a position with an acceptance deadline of August 10th.

How far away is Houston from New York? A thousand miles? More?

Chloe pulls up Maps online; the distance from Brooklyn to the center of Houston is 1,419 miles.

It's too far.

Chloe pulls her lower lip between her teeth and opens a new internet tab: veterinary internships Houston TX. There are more than 60 results. She could do it. She could fill out an application right now.

Her hands twitch on the laptop keyboard, and for an instant, she seriously considers it. It wouldn't take long. She just has to copy and paste a lot of the information from her other applications.

Chloe leans forward with a groan to rest her head in her hands.

It would never work. Even with her application materials prepared, there's no way she could complete multiple applications, the subsequent phone interviews, and hear back from them in the span of the four days she has to either accept or decline the position in Brooklyn.

Chloe groans again, frustrated. She's fully aware that the rational thing to do in this situation is for her and Beca both to accept their offers, as long as no one else contacts either of them in the next few days. They need jobs, and their lease is about to end. The "adult" thing to do would be to say yes to the offers.

And yet.

They do still have some time before they have to decide, and it's possible that they might actually manage to get offers from within the same city. Maybe. If the aca-gods are in their favor.

Chloe's eyes prickle and sting. It's not fair. They should have all the time in the world to be together, rather than potentially having to live across the country from one another. Chloe knows that in reality, Beca's job prospects are much more limited than hers; every city needs veterinarians, and those veterinarians need internships. Big-name music production jobs are much less common. If she really doesn't want to live apart from Beca, then it makes the most sense to follow Beca to wherever she goes.

It's just. Brooklyn's program is really the best, and Chloe knows Beca would want her to follow her dreams and go there.

They haven't been dating long, but already, Chloe can't imagine a future without Beca. She thinks it might have to do with how long they've known each other, or maybe even that she'd stayed at Barden all this time to be with Beca. Either way, she'd never liked the thought of leaving Beca, and now that Beca has made her into the happiest person in the world, the thought of separating from her is borderline unendurable.

The words "Beca" and "forever" are linked in her mind, no matter how impractical that may be this early in their dating relationship. Chloe knows it should probably scare her – being this dedicated to someone so soon – but it doesn't.

It has all become alarmingly simple.

Chloe and Beca, Beca and Chloe, Chloe and Beca, Beca and Chloe.

Telling Aubrey is probably the worst part about not graduating the second time.

"What do you mean you 'failed again?'" Aubrey practically screams over Skype.

"It's fine," Chloe says, trying not to wince at Aubrey's volume; if Aubrey senses weakness, she'll pounce. "I'll just try again next year."

Aubrey groans, the computer mic distorting her voice and making it crackle. "Chloe. You can't keep doing this to yourself."

"I don't –"

"Oh, don't give me that," Aubrey insists, looking at Chloe seriously through the camera. "You know exactly what you're doing. You're too smart to have actually failed anything, much less – what was it?"

"Russian Lit," Chloe mumbles guiltily.

"Russian Lit?!" Aubrey repeats loudly. "Chloe, seriously? I know for a fact you have Anna Karenina almost memorized. Don't pretend you don't know what you're doing."

"I mean, Dr. Zhivago is really a hard novel to analyze –"

"You've read it three times," Aubrey says, sounding exasperated. "Be honest. It's the same reason as last year, isn't it? The Bellas?"

"They're my family, Bree," admits Chloe, dropping all pretense. "I don't want to leave her – them. Them," she says firmly, kicking herself a little and hoping Aubrey won't notice the slip-up.

Unfortunately, Aubrey always has been too astute; even through Skype, Chloe can see her eyebrows lift and expression turn satisfied.

"Mhmm. So how is the little goblin?"

"I've asked you not to call her that," Chloe snaps, more defensively than she'd meant to.

It makes Aubrey's sly grin widen, and Chloe knows she's given herself away.

"But you still know who I mean, even when I call her things like that," Aubrey replies with a dismissive shrug. "Does she know you're purposely failing to stay with her?"

Chloe feels herself flush, and stutters out, "That's not – I don't – you're –"

"Why don't you move on, Chloe?" Aubrey interrupts, shifting at her desk to lean closer to her laptop. "She's still with Jesse and – unless you haven't told me something – she's still straight."

Chloe looks away from the screen, stung. She doesn't need Aubrey to tell her these things. She already knows them, painfully well.

"I – you never know, okay?" she manages after a moment, still unable to look back at Aubrey.

"Chloe," Aubrey sighs after a moment, her tone softening so that Chloe's able to look at her again. "I – I'm sorry, but... you have to know how unhealthy this is. You do see that, right?" she speaks delicately, as if worried Chloe's going to start yelling at her.

Chloe's stomach plummets and she looks away again.

"I mean… you just… Chloe, if she's straight, there's no point in continuing to feel like this. It's a little – well, it's unfair to both of you, really."

Chloe swallows hard, Aubrey's unspoken words screaming in her ears. She can read between the lines. She knows Aubrey is calling her creepy and obsessive.

On Skype, Aubrey starts to backtrack. "Okay, maybe unhealthy was a little –"

"Let's talk about something else," interrupts Chloe, not really listening. "Have you heard anything from your dad?"

Aubrey stares at her disapprovingly at the blatant subject change but doesn't comment on it. Chloe breathes a little sigh of relief when Aubrey goes along with it, albeit reluctantly, and starts detailing some of the last postcard she'd gotten from her father concerning probably confidential military operations.

As she half-listens, nodding and smiling in all the right places, Chloe tries very hard to ignore the faint stirring of guilt in her stomach.

Aubrey doesn't need to know she's already planning on graduating with Beca. She'd probably think that was totally crazy.

Beca and Chloe forever. At least, that's how Chloe sees it.

In a few days, though, separation might be their new reality.

A light knock on her door breaks her concentration. It's okay, though; she can tell by the knock it's Beca. Smile already spreading over her face, Chloe calls, "Come in!" As she does, though, she minimizes her email, not wanting to ruin Beca's mood by bringing that whole mess up. She'll tell Beca, just, not yet, at least if she can avoid it.

The door opens and Beca slips in, leaving it cracked open behind her. Chloe relaxes at the familiar sight of Beca's crooked grin and giggles at the dramatic way she throws herself on Chloe's bed, bouncing against the mattress before sitting upright.

"Hey," Beca says, "you busy?"

"Not really," Chloe shrugs, careful to keep her tone light and casual. "What's up?"

"Not a lot. Just got off the phone with my dad," Beca answers, rolling her eyes, but without menace. "He's been taking every chance he gets to ask about you and – and us," she adds, suddenly looking nervous.

"How's that going?" Chloe asks tentatively.

Beca shrugs, looking up at the ceiling. "It's… not bad," she says slowly. "I mean, we've been talking for a little bit, since your parents came over, and he's kinda getting it?" Beca says, her voice rising like it's a question.

"That's good, though, right?"

"Yeah. It's – he's been slowly getting better about it. He didn't say anything totally offensive this time, anyway," Beca huffs.

"That's good. Uh, and…?" Chloe trails off, uncertain.

"Sheila?" Beca asks, and Chloe nods. A corner of Beca's mouth lifts contemplatively. "I mean, she's – radio silence," she says grimly. "It's like my dad said – she's just kinda like that, and I'm not sure she'll change. He's trying to talk to her, though, a little at a time. We'll see," Beca finishes in a tone that tells Chloe she's done talking about it.

"Okay," Chloe says. "So, we'll, uh, we'll work with that."

"Yep," Beca says, tracing her fingers over Chloe's bedspread. Chloe has to suppress a smile and ignore the natural swoop in her stomach at seeing Beca on her bed; Beca's been spending most nights in her bed lately.

"But, anyway," Beca clears her throat, and Chloe hauls her mind out of the gutter so she can listen. "Was also wondering if you wanted to come shopping with me," Beca asks. "Just to the mall or something, maybe."

"Did you have something in mind?" Chloe asks, pushing away from her desk and moving to sit next to Beca at the end of her bed. It's not often that Beca willingly goes to a place involving large amounts of other people.

"Well," Beca tilts her head and reclines back to an elbow, her torso twisted toward Chloe. "Mostly I want to check out what they have for, like, uh, parting gifts? I guess? For the Bellas."

"... Oh my god."

"Don't make it weird."

Chloe can't stop the huge smile she feels spreading over her face. Chloe wants more than anything to tease Beca (and mercilessly) for being such a softie but decides to take pity on her pinkened cheeks and stubbornly set jaw.

"We can do that," she says. "It's a great idea. Did you have anything in mind?"

"Nah, I just want to see what they had, you know?"

"Oh, uh, okay, yeah, we can probably –"

"Are you okay?" Beca interrupts, leaning forward, her eyebrows drawing together in concern.

"Hmm?" Chloe feigns innocence while panicking internally.

Beca's frown deepens and her eyes flick between both of Chloe's intently. "You seem a little… I don't know. Not quite here, I guess. Just kinda off."

"I mean, it's nothing."

Beca shrugs. "If you don't want to talk, it's okay, I just want to make sure everything is, you know, chill, or whatever."

"Oh, it's okay, I just, um…" Chloe hesitates. She hadn't planned on telling Beca quite like this, but she doesn't like the idea of keeping anything a secret from her. "I'm… I was accepted to the Brooklyn internship," she finally expels in a rush.

Beca's eyes fly wide and her mouth pops open in what Chloe knows is excitement. "Dude, you got in!" she exclaims, bolting upright.

"Yeah," Chloe says and grins despite herself.

"Dude! That's awesome, congrats!"

Beca lunges forward, reaching for Chloe's face, and pulls her into an excited and somewhat sloppy kiss. Through it, Chloe can tell Beca is genuinely happy for her, and that both invigorates and saddens her. It makes her decision that much harder.

Beca pulls back first, her hands still cupping Chloe's cheeks.

"I'm so proud of you, Chlo," she says sincerely.

"Thanks, it's really… I'm excited," Chloe says, then winces internally at the obvious strain in her tone.

Beca's smile falls slowly and she pulls away, dropping her hands from Chloe's face to she can study her more closely.

"Are you?" Beca asks, softly this time. "Excited, I mean?"

"Yeah, it's just…" Chloe half-shrugs, and looks away from Beca and toward her desk, where her open laptop almost seems to mock her. "It's kinda far from Houston."

Beca stills next to her, and Chloe glances over to see her looking down at the bedspread between them.

"Why does that matter?" she asks carefully.

"Beca, you know why it matters," Chloe says.

Beca's hands twitch in her lap.

"I mean… it – yeah. Brooklyn kinda is far away from Houston, yeah," Beca agrees after a second.

"I could turn it down, maybe try for something closer," Chloe's quick to say, but Beca's already shaking her head seriously.

"No way, Chloe," she says firmly. "No way. I thought you'd always wanted to go to that program, right? You said it has a super high vet school acceptance rate."

"Yeah, it – it does…" Chloe admits slowly, grateful Beca had remembered that detail about her program search.

"Okay, so you should go there, right? So you can get into vet school later?"

"Beca –"

"Look," Beca cuts her off gently, "Chlo, I don't want to be that couple that holds each other back from doing what they really want to do."

"You wouldn't."

"Baby, I'm worried I would," Beca says, staring down at her lap. "You've been talking about their program for a while. Isn't it what you want?"

"Yeah, but I want you, too."

"You can have both, Chlo."

"Beca –"

"What if we were switched?" Beca asks suddenly, looking back up. "What if I had wanted to go to LA and gotten an offer there?"

Chloe refuses to look at her. "That's not the same," she says.

"Yes, it is."

"I…" Chloe sighs and rubs a hand over her face. She knows exactly what Beca's doing, and she knows she's right. "I'd tell you to go," she finally concedes.

"Yeah," Beca nods, reaching for Chloe's hand to pull into her lap. "So this is me, telling you that you should follow what you've been working for."

Chloe pulls her lower lip into her mouth, worrying at it with her teeth. When she doesn't say anything, Beca runs her thumb over the back of her hand.

"What is it?" she asks softly.

"I just..." Chloe starts, then has to pause to swallow the lump in her throat before she can continue. "It's not fair."

She knows it's childish – life isn't fair to anyone – but she wants to complain, at least a little bit.

"What isn't fair?"

"This!" Chloe exclaims, finally looking up at Beca. "This whole stupid thing! We just got together and now we might be pulled apart! It's not fair!" she finishes, her voice cracking.

Beca stares at her for a long moment, eyes wide. "I – yeah, I know," she finally starts, and Chloe watches as determination take over her features. "It's not fair. But, listen – having a long-distance relationship is not the end of the world."

"I didn't –"

"I know it's not ideal, but it's not the end of the world," Beca repeats, speaking louder. "We don't have to end just because we're not living together, okay? There's – there's text, and calls, and Skype, and – we have options," Beca says. "And, you know, lots of people make it work. We can too, okay, if we have to. And it won't be forever."

Chloe shrugs, then nods slowly. A trickle of hope moves into her chest.

"And," Beca continues, "I still haven't heard back from, like, a ton of jobs. I'm not gonna go to Houston if I can help it, okay?"

"Okay," Chloe whispers, squeezing Beca's hand.

She's right. If anyone can do it, it's them. It's not ideal, but it wouldn't be forever.

"Besides," Beca adds a second later, her tone lighter as she nudges their shoulders together playfully, "Houston gets, like, super hot in the summer, and you know I don't do well in the heat."

Chloe snorts at that, and a small smile grows on Beca's face. Chloe doesn't say anything, but Beca's still watching her, her expression tender.

Reaching forward to push a strand of Chloe's hair behind her ear, Beca says, "And, um, if you're really not sure… think on it for a bit, maybe, and we'll go from there? I might even hear back from some places by… when do you have to tell them?"

"The 8th."

Beca's eyebrows lift, but then her expression arranges itself into something more neutral.

"Okay, so, the 8th," she says, and Chloe can tell she's forcing her casual tone. "That's… yeah. I still think you should do it, though, because it's what you've been wanting for a while."

It sounds so simple coming from her mouth. Chloe knows Beca is just as terrified by the looming moves as she is, but she sounds so confident and assured in that moment that Chloe instantly relaxes.

"Sounds good," she breathes, some of the tension lifting from her chest.

"Good," Beca says, then stands from the bed, still tugging on Chloe's hand. "And, in the meantime, would you like to dance with me?"

"What?" Chloe blinks up at her, surprised.

Beca's grin only widens. "We need to celebrate this, and I don't have any cake with me, so… dance?"

"You're so weird," Chloe says, but then she allows Beca to pull her to her feet and into a quick kiss. Beca's lips move languidly against her own, their familiar taste reminding Chloe of crackling campfires and warm movie nights and exhilarating performances and home.

After a moment, Chloe has to pull back, slightly breathless. "Do you have music?" she asks.

Beca tilts her head, mock offended. "Duh, who do you think I am?" she asks incredulously.

Chloe smiles as Beca waggles her eyebrows overdramatically and pulls her phone from her pocket. She scrolls for a second, then taps on the screen, turns up the volume, and La Roux's "Bulletproof" fills the room.

Chloe's lips lift at song choice – even though at one time, it had nearly torn the Bellas apart – and Beca sets down her phone face-down on Chloe's desk so that the music can full the room. Beca takes both of Chloe's hands in her own, and with one more crooked grin, Beca starts dancing.

She leads them in a kind of jerky swing dance that doesn't really match the song, but Chloe doesn't mind; all she can think about is Beca's hands in hers, guiding her back and forth and side to side in the middle of the bedroom.

They take turns spinning each other, Chloe's eyes following the trails Beca's whirling hair makes in the air. Beca backs her into her bed once, and Chloe wobbles dangerously, but Beca tugs her back with a glint in her eye that tells Chloe it might not have been an accident, but an excuse to pull their bodies closer together. As the music ends, Chloe spins Beca one final time and tugs her close to rest their foreheads together, breath mingling and hearts beating in tandem. Beca's hands slide up her arms to loop around her shoulders, and Chloe rests her hands around Beca's waist.

Even though the music is over, they revolve slowly on the spot, Chloe's mind calming and heart racing. Beca nudges forward to brush her lips against Chloe's, even that barest touch between them sending sparks cascading through Chloe's entire body. She hums into the kiss, pressing forward just enough to add pressure before easing away again.

"Say yes to New York, Chloe."

It's quiet, whispered against her lips, but it still shakes Chloe's world.

"I'll need a roommate," she breathes back.

"Ask the group chat."

It's a smart idea. Most of their futures are so up in the air that one of the Bellas is bound to be willing to move to New York with her.

(She wishes it could be Beca. More than anything, she wants it to be Beca.)

But she has to think practically.

"Okay," Chloe agrees. "I'll ask them."

"Okay," Beca smiles, then pecks Chloe's lips again. "So… about that shopping trip?"

"You got it," Chloe whispers, and she lifts a hand to trace her thumb along Beca's cheekbone before she (reluctantly) pulls from Beca's arms to text the group chat and find her purse.