Drama, Drama, Drama is all I am going to say J ENJOY!
The day before Regionals:
"Becaw! Open up!" Jesse knocks on Beca's dorm room. Beca smirks before gliding to the door and opening it. "Hey Weirdo." She says, stepping to one side to let Jesse into her room. "Welcome to my humble abode." She announces, shutting the door then slumping back in her desk chair. Jesse glances over the laptop screen and sees all of the DJ equipment. "What's all this?" Jesse asks, pointing to the laptop and DJ equipment. Beca half laughs as she spins around. "This is my pride and joy." She says as she plugs in her headphones and switches on all the equipment, playing the mix she was working on and putting the headphones on. Jesse watches intently as the song plays and listens as Beca explains what she is doing. "So uh, I just find songs with the same chord progressions and create a track that blends them together. So like, this is the new bassline." She explains pointing to the bass on the screen. "And this is matching up downbeats." She points to another point on the screen. She sees Jesse nodding along and realizes she still has the headphones on. "Oh I'm talking really loud." She giggles as she pulls off the headphones. Jesse smirks and nods. "And uh, that's me singing." She finishes and Jesse moves his hand to the headphones, pausing before she hands them over. He takes them and puts them on, listening to the mix Beca had made. He bobs his head along to the music as he starts to laugh. "This is really good! Now I'm the one yelling right?" He says and Beca grins before nodding. Jesse removes the headphones and gives them back to Beca. "That is amazing Beca." He smiles and Beca murmurs him a quicks thanks before putting the headphones away.
"So I brought this over because I want to watch you watch the end of this movie. Then I can die a hero." Jesse states as he holds up the Breakfast Club and Beca freezes for a moment. "Man, he won't let this go. It's okay it's just the end." She reassures herself in her mind. She smiles awkwardly in replies before nodding slowly. Jesse moves and brings up his laptop, adjusting all of the pillows and leaning back. "You have a habit of making yourself at home, do you know that?" Beca jokes, Jesse nods and beckons her over to the bed. Beca looks around awkwardly trying to find something else to do before she gives up and moves over to the bed next to Jesse. She adjusts herself to get comfortable as Jesse starts playing the end of the movie. "Okay, The Breakfast Club, 1975. Greatest ending of any movie ever. This song launched Simple Minds in the US, could have been a Billy Idol song but he turned it down. Idiot. Perfectly sums up the movie. It's equally beautiful and sad." Jesse explains and Beca just looks at him wide eyed, before she realizes she is staring, or trying not to watch the movie, Jesse snaps his head around. "You're missing the ending." Beca refocuses back on the screen but recognizes that Jesse is watching her. She turns to look back at him and notices he starts to lean in. Beca awkwardly pulls away and hits the space bar on his laptop to stop the movie. "It's good, I'm sure the end is equally as-." Beca is cut off as Stacie walks in the door, finding the two on the bed.
"Sorry did I interrupt?" She asks and Beca shakes her head vigorously. "Uh nope, Jesse was just leaving." Beca takes advantage of the moment to get Jesse out after making things awkward. Jesse nods as he grabs his things and leaves, bidding goodbye to the two girls. "What was that all about?" Stacie asks, a wide grin cross her face. Beca shakes her head. "It's not what you think." She replies as she gets off the bed and sits back down in the desk chair. "Good because the Bellas have money on you and Chloe before the end of the year." Stacie murmurs, just loud enough for Beca to hear. "Wait what? I'm not into Chloe. Why does everyone think I'm into Chloe? I'm not into Chloe. She's just a good friend. Jesus Christ!" Beca snaps and Stacie stares at her friend wide-eyed. Before she replies, Beca turns around and puts her headphones on, turning the mix onto full volume and continuing with mixing it. Stacie quirks her head to one side, watching the small brunette's shirt lifted up as she sat down, Stacie focuses on the scars upon scars on Beca's lower back. "What the hell?" She murmurs as she stands up and moves a bit closer without startling Beca. She looks at the old wounds again, they looked like the wound would have been deep, the skin scarring in a jagged-like line, almost like Beca was hit with a whip or something.
Love to hear it
Love to hear that passion
Turn it around, Turn it around
T-T-Turn it around, Turn it around
T-T-Turn it around
The Bellas finish performing their song for the sixteenth time. Chloe's voice getting more strained and tired as they continue. "I should have taken that cardio tip more seriously." Fat Amy suggests to herself, her breaths ragged and deep. "How much have you done?" Aubrey asks as she grabs her bottle of water and walks to the front of the group. "You just saw it." Fat Amy replies, making Beca smirk. For some reason, Beca always knew that the Australian could make her smile with her quick wit and openness. "Chloe, you've got to be able to hit that last note." Aubrey whines and Chloe already feels the stress of trying to sing the song but with her nodes, it was impossible. "I can't. It's impossible. It's because of my nodes." She vocalizes her thoughts and the rest of the girls back her up although she hears Fat Amy say 'nerds' instead of 'nodes'. "Well if you can't do it than someone else needs to solo." Aubrey suggests and Chloe smiles at the thought, leaping at the opportunity that was presented in front of her. "I think Beca should take my solo." Chloe says, pointing back in Beca's direction but not keeping her eyes off her blonde co-captain who sighs heavily and glares in Chloe's direction, slamming her water bottle down on the piano, this all not going unnoticed by Beca or the other Bellas for that matter. Beca knew that Aubrey still blamed her for losing the Riff-Off four nights before.
"Yeah Beca would be excellent, but also someone equally as excellent and they might be shy and not want to come forward and say they wanted a solo." Fat Amy jumps in confidently pointing out that she would like the solo. To be honest, Beca didn't want the solo if it was going to be the same boring songs. "Well Beca doesn't want a solo so…" Aubrey says, taking a sip of her water, a small glare pointed a Beca. The small brunette takes the opportunity to try compromise with the blonde captain. "I would be happy to do it if I got to pick a new song and do an arrangement." Beca suggests and watches as Chloe nods her head along to the idea, well she got one captain onboard. "Well that's not how I run things here." Aubrey quickly backfires and Chloe is a little shocked to hear that apparently Aubrey is the one running things when they are both supposed to be captains. "Aubrey, maybe Beca has a point, maybe we could try something-." Chloe tries to voice her opinion as a captain but is cut off by the blonde. "Aca-scuse me. You can sing Turn The Beat Around and last's the last I want to hear of this." Aubrey replies harshly. Most of her comment being aimed at Beca but hurting Chloe more. Beca glances over and notices Chloe's disappointment, something inside her screaming out to defend the redhead.
"That song is tired, we're not going to win with it. If we pull samples from different genres and layer them together we could-." Beca pushes the subject further, stepping forward confidently but again Aubrey cuts her off. "Okay, let me explain something to you, because you still don't seem to get it. Our goal is to get back to the finals and these songs will get us there. So excuse me if I don't take advice from some alt-girl with her mad-lib beats because she has never been in a competition. Have I made myself clear?" Aubrey dictates and Beca rolls her eyes before stepping back again. "Crystal, I won't solo…..and screw you." Beca replies as she walks over to her things and starts packing them up. She starts to walk away when Aubrey notices what she is doing. "Beca, where are you going?" She calls out. Aubrey chases after Beca, grabbing her arm and pulling her back. Beca rips her arm out of Aubrey's hold. "Let fucking go of me right now. Screw you okay! You glare at me and undermine me because you think you're better than me. Newsflash Aubrey you are! You all are!" Beca starts yelling, turning to the entire group. She looks back at Aubrey. "I know you blame me for losing you that stupid riff-off and I don't care to be honest because it was my fault okay? I blame myself just as much because this group is all I have and music is my life legitimately! So just for God's sake, leave me alone!" Beca pulls away and Aubrey stands shocked, watching as the small brunette walks away. She glances over to Chloe and the other Bellas to see they are equally as shocked as her. Chloe finally snaps out of her shock and runs out, chasing down the brunette.
"Beca, stop wait." Chloe says as she grabs Beca's arm, Beca again ripping it out of her grasp. "Don't fucking touch me Chloe. You're no better. First, you are ignoring me. You haven't even looked at me since after I brought you home from the party. Which I don't care about because I'm used to people avoiding me. But what is really pissing me off is you let that bitch push you around and undermine you as a friend and a co-captain and you take it because what? She is your best friend, she's under a lot of stress. I bet the worst she has on her plate is her issues with her father not accepting her because she doesn't want to follow in daddy's footsteps. There are people out there who have a lot worse to deal with!" Beca snaps and Chloe feels tears brim in her eyes, her mind reeling about Beca's comment on people having it worse. "Did she mean herself?" Chloe asks herself in her head. Beca begins to walk off when Chloe speaks up.
"I haven't been ignoring you." Chloe replies, allowing a tear to fall. Beca stops dead in her tracks and glances back at the redhead. "I've been embarrassed because I don't remember if I said or did anything to you that night. Truth is I've slowly gone from having a crush on you to falling in love with you and I know you're not interested in me but every time I look at you, it kills me. Every time you give me that sarcastic, gorgeous smirk, I feel myself fall in love with you all over again. When you sing with your angelic voice, my heart breaks." Chloe confesses, bursting into tears. Beca watches as the girl she is falling in love with confesses her love for her. Her heart breaking at the sight of Chloe falling apart. "Well you didn't." Beca states as she starts walking off again. "I'll see you tomorrow night at Regionals." She calls out and Chloe can't help but smile as she watches Beca walk away. Chloe returns to the rehearsal space to find that Aubrey had appointed Fat Amy to solo instead of Chloe. Aubrey glaring in the direction of the door where Beca had left. "She'll be at the competition tomorrow Aubrey. She just has a lot going on." Chloe whispers as she walks down to meet her co-captain. "I have a lot going on too but you don't see me walking out on Bellas practice." Aubrey seethes Chloe is unable to believe what she just heard. "The worst you have on your plate is issues with your father not accepting you because you don't want to be a lawyer like him. There are people out there who have a lot worse to deal with Aubrey." Chloe says before she even registers what she said, copying Beca's words from earlier. Aubrey turns around and her green eyes almost turn as red as her face. "I'm calling it. Chloe and Fat Amy, just switch places tomorrow and we'll be fine. See you all tomorrow night." Aubrey says before grabbing her things and leaving without another word to Chloe.
Beca sits outside the Baker hall building, her back leaning against the wall and head facing up so she can look at the stars. The only light provided for her being the crescent moon and the lit up joint in her hand. Her vision hazy as she realizes that she is very stoned. "Wow this shit from the High Notes is amazing." She says to herself. She looks back up at the stars and starts singing to herself in a hushed voice. The only lyrics she has of the song she is currently writing becoming vocal for the first time.
I breathe you in again
Just to feel you
Underneath my skin
Holding onto to
The sweet escape
Is always laced with a
Familiar Taste of Poison
Beca takes another long drag of her joint before reaching into her bag and pulling out her ecstasy pills, taking three and smirking as she puts her head back. She looks up at the moon and starts talking. "If you are real, will you judge him? Will you make him suffer in hell? Or will I be the one to suffer because I let him." She asks the midnight blue sky, not even noticing a redhead listening to her from behind the corner. Chloe feels her knees buckle and she slides down the wall listening to the rest of what Beca has to say, writing it all down and making notes to find out who 'him' is. She listens again when she hears Beca continue. "I have tried Alex, I really have. Remember I overdosed two months after it happened…. I know and I'm sorry, you should have just done it, made it quick…. I didn't exactly want to, you scared me…. I know I'm worthless, I know no-one cares even this stupid team don't want me around and I'm trying to help them. Music is all I have left and they are ripping it away from me… Look I'll do it soon and then I'll be with you yeah?" Beca says. Chloe feeling a pang in her chest at Beca's stoned confession. She glances around the corner carefully wondering if she is on the phone or something but she can't see. "Maybe she is on the phone? But she said Alex. As in her brother? Isn't he dead?" Chloe jots down more notes before hearing Beca struggle to stand. Chloe gets up and runs to cover before watching Beca stumble back into Baker Hall. "I care Beca." Chloe says to herself before standing up when a voice appears in her head. "Of course I do Chloe, I've been slowly falling in love with you since the day I met you at the activities fair but I can't be with you otherwise he'll hurt you like he hurts me all the time. I can't let him hurt you Chlo. I'd never forgive myself." Chloe recognizes Beca's voice and Chloe believes it is something she may have dreamt while dreaming about being with the brunette. She thinks back for a moment, not remembering Beca ever saying that and agrees it is just her imagination playing games with her, trying to convince her to continue pursuing the brunette in a romantic manner. "It has to be right? She isn't into me like that." Chloe answers herself before walking back in the direction of her dorm room where she knows an aggravated blonde will be waiting.
There you have it! DRAMA! Am I right? A confession on why Chloe has been avoiding Beca. Stacie seeing Beca's scars and believing something is happening between her and Jesse! Chloe and Aubrey now having a few issues and Beca storming out of rehearsal. It was a lot to cover in one chapter but I did it! Plus now you know why the name of the story is Familiar Taste of Poison (it's a song by Halestorm and a brilliant one at that.) THAT ENDING THOUGH! OH CHLOE IF ONLY YOU KNEW! I was actually crying writing the part with Beca talking to the sky because I have done the same thing where I made a stoned confession to the sky and someone was actually listening. I wrote that from personal experience and it hit a little harder than I wanted it to.
So next chapter is Regionals and yeah the drama from this chapter will flow through the next few chapters, especially coming up to Semis.
Stay Beautiful Loveies!