~Y'all have no idea how good you have it. The angst last chapter was supposed to last for 3 chapters. but i threw that all out.
Before you read these two chapters, I highly suggest you snuggle the eff up because both of these chapters together make up like 22k words. (OMFG MAN IM DRAINED) Grab a blanket, get some hot cocoa, maybe some tea if you want. Enjoy.
Chloe woke with a start after hearing her phone ring from somewhere in the room. Her head pounded harder with each beat of her heart as the sunlight shot daggers into her eyes.
She would have gotten up if Beca wasn't wrapped around her like a monkey infant clinging to its mother.
It wasn't fair how much she had missed Beca throughout those five agonizing days. She didn't even realize it until now with Beca's arms holding her close. It isn't that surprising when she chose to ignore the call and let herself sink deeper into Beca's chest. She was satisfied when she felt Beca's arms constrict around her waist and across her chest.
Again her phone rang.
She pondered what could be so important that it couldn't wait for thirty more minutes.
That's when it hit her.
Her tired eyes shot open.
The bachelorette party.
Fuck.
She ripped herself from Beca's grip and ran to her jeans that were splayed on the floor across the room, but fell to her knees when the pounding started again.
"What the hell, Chlo?"
"What time did we go to sleep last night?" She croaked. "Two? Three?"
"I don't know." Beca groaned into her pillow trying to hide from the sunlight that was burning her eyes.
The redhead snatched her phone from one of the pockets of her pants and picked up without bothering to read the caller id.
"Bree?" She squeaked out of her dry throat. "Oh my god, I didn't brush my teeth last night! That's disgusting.. I still taste vomit!" She gagged a few times, before frowning like she was going to cry about her poor hygienic state.
"Think again, Gringa! Boy, do we have a lot to talk about today! Did you have a long night? Because we're leaving in thirty and I really hope you're not going to be late 'cause I'm really excited for the chat we're going to have."
"Amy, did you tell-"
"What is there to tell, Chloe?"
Chloe hesitated. "I-.. You saw-"
"What did I see, Chloe?"
"Do not play dumb with me, Amy. Not right now."
"Oh, you mean last night? What was it? I think it was you.. in your lingerie-"
"Amy, no-"
"Yes, that was it! And Beca was there! I heard both of your giggles-"
"Oh my God."
"You know what? Can you just hurry up because I'd much rather have this conversation in person so I could see the look on your face-"
"Nothing happened."
"Sure, okay! I totally believe you." Amy took a breath. "You wish!"
"Amy-"
Chloe groaned when the line went dead.
She glanced back at Beca who had already fallen back asleep.
"Beca get up, it's.." She glanced at her phone. "It's noon, beb."
"No."
"Come on, you can do it. We got a long day today."
Beca groaned as she stretched; reaching for the headboard and arching her back. "Wait, who was that on the phone?" Beca questioned, curling onto her side so she could see Chloe at the end of the bed.
"Amy."
Beca frowned. "Man, out of all the people who could have seen you in your lingerie last night, it had to be Amy. The universe is cruel."
Chloe grinned in response, remembering what had happened the night before.
Beca Mitchell is totally in love with her.
How could she be so blind before?
How could she ever even doubt it?
Today is the day.
The day she's going to tell Beca everything.
The day she's going to kiss Beca.
Or at least try.
The thought alone made her chest rise with excitement.
She stared at the brunette from across the room. Beca's hair was messy, sticking up on the left side, and one of her bra straps hung down her arm.
"Yeah but I mean, what is she even going to say right? That we-.." Chloe shrugged her shoulders, letting Beca interpret it how she wanted.
"Us? That's.." Beca coughed, suddenly red in the face. "Can you even imagine?" Yes. "That's.. crazy. We're- you're not even.. that's crazy."
Beca 'Crash and Burn' Mitchell.
"Yeah.. crazy."
Beca's eyes darted around the room nervously. Chloe was staring at her, in a v-neck and panties, along with that sly smile that made her think the redhead knew something she didn't.
She needed to change the subject and fast.
"We should get ready, Red. Big day today.."
Chloe nodded along with Beca. "You have no idea."
".. Okay?"
"Ready to party.. again?" The redhead clasped her hands excitedly before quickly regretting the decision to make any noise louder than a whisper.
"Please, not until I get an aspirin."
The girls had a late lunch at a cozy diner before heading over to Aubrey's and waiting for their party bus to arrive.
Chloe decided to avoid Amy until she could corner her in a louder space to convince her that nothing had happened last night, but that didn't stop the Tasmanian from shooting her suggestive looks here and there, along with a wink or two, some inappropriate hand gestures and furniture groping when no one was looking.
But Chloe wasn't exactly paying attention anyways, she was a bit busy trying to stay as physically close to Beca as she could. Her neck was starting to ache from constantly glancing at the brunette beside her. And she's glad she'd been a relatively happy person for her entire life, otherwise her cheeks would be sore from the endless smiling in response to Beca's confused smirk every time their eyes met.
Aubrey adjusted the tiara on her head, trying to find the perfect angle in the reflection of a picture frame before turning to Chloe who sat poised on the armrest of a recliner as opposed to a slumped Beca fiddling with her phone beside her. "So, What's the plan today, Chloe?"
"It's a surprise."
"Hold up, you mean to tell us that you asked us all to chip in for this party and you're going to put us all on a bus and take us to various undisclosed locations, that only you know of, and expect us to go along with it?" Cynthia Rose challenged, arms folded across her chest.
"Yes."
"Reminds me of how I got to the America!" Flo smiled. "Very fun times, I promise.. as long as you have your own, clean, water. That is very important."
"Sounds like my kind of party!" Amy offered with a loud clap that startled everyone in the room.
Beca rolled her eyes. "Any party is your kind of party."
"Not a swinger's party.." Amy dropped her gaze. "Wait, I take that back."
"Pretty sure you'll be the host." Beca chuckled as she glanced at her friends, noticing a certain quiet brunette who was sulking across from her on the corner of a side table.
Stacie lounged on the end of Aubrey's couch, brooding, spreading her tense aura with every breath she took. Everyone stared at her once Beca made it clear who she was staring at after she very loudly cleared her throat.
Beca couldn't be more frustrated with Stacie, she hadn't been herself since the trip to Rome and Beca was sure she wasn't the only one that noticed. She thought it was about time for her to fess up, especially since all their friends were there if emotional support was needed for some reason.
"Stacie.. you okay there?" She asked softly, careful not to push any buttons. Her brows knitted together when Stacie glanced at Aubrey before smiling back.
"Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know? You've been a little quiet, that's all. I mean, we're supposed to be having fun here, if anyone should be sulking in the corner, I think we could all agree that it should be me, the grumpy asshole, but here I am actually enjoying myself while you're over there moping like some sad puppy. And I feel like you've been moping since, I don't know, a while? So are you going to tell us what's-"
Chloe jumped up from her seat, interrupting Beca in the process.
"Bus is here!" She grabbed Beca's hand and dragged the brunette out the door but pulled her aside as the rest of the girls darted off towards the bus. She leaned in close and whispered to Beca, eyeing the rest of the bellas in the distance. "There's something happening here, Beca."
".. Could you be any more vague?" Beca rested her hands on her hips, waiting for her to elaborate. "Please tell me you're talking about Stacie because I am so done with this shit she's pulling."
"Aubrey and Stacie-both of them! Do you think Stacie had a thing with Luke?"
"Whoa dude-wait, what? Where did that come from?"
"Think about it! They're both drop dead gorgeous, I'm sure they had to have known each other before Aubrey came along, I'm pretty sure they hang around the same type of people. You know? Clubs.. and hot people. Hot people know each other right? They meet at nightclubs. That's what hot people do."
"What?!" Beca shook her head trying to process everything Chloe was saying. "What the hell are you talking about?"
"Do you not see it, Beca?! In Rome, at the bar she was acting super weird after we told her Aubrey and Luke were getting married and since then she's kinda been an asshole to everyone every time we would hang out together." Chloe spoke quickly, knowing the girls would get suspicious soon. "At the dress fitting she was being-"
"At the dress fitting she basically told Luke to fuck off, why would she-"
"I don't know! Because she loves him?! And she hates him for leaving her? I don't know! But something isn't right here, Beca."
"No, no, no, that makes no sense, Luke never mentioned having anything with Stacie. Plus, Aubrey and Stacie get along just fine, don't you think they would hate each other if that was the situation?"
"Sisters before misters?"
"That's funny, Chlo." Beca scoffed. "Everyone says that but no one practices it."
"The Bellas do!" Beca squinted at her as she stepped closer. "Look, there's something going on here, Beca-"
"Guys! Clock is ticking! Can we move it along maybe?" Ashley yelled from the bus. Everyone was pressed up against the window staring at them.
"Help me keep an eye on her today?" Chloe pleaded with her big blue eyes that Beca could never resist.
"Which one?" Beca sighed.
"I'll watch Aubrey, you can watch Stace. We'll-I don't know, report our findings once we get back to the motel."
".. Sure." Beca shrugged. "Sounds so much more fun than actually enjoying a bachelorette party."
"Thanks, beb. You're the best."
"Don't I know it."
"And don't worry, we'll have fun today. I promise."
Beca trailed behind as they made their way onto the bus.
"Where's the bride to be?" Chloe questioned after noticing the bus lacked a certain blonde.
"She and Stacie are still in the damn house." Amy hollered from the back of the bus.
Chloe's eyes shot to Beca's and they quickly dashed off the bus again. They strode back into the house, cautious of what the rest of the girls would think if they ran.
"Can you just stop?!" Aubrey's voice sounded desperate as it bellowed out of the front door.
"Why the fuck did you ask me to be a bridesmaid?! Did you want to shove this in my face? Is that it? Or did you want an excuse for me to be here? Tell me why I'm here! Am I supposed to smile and wave or am I here because you want me to convince you to not go through with this?! Do you realize how fucked up it is that you asked me to be here? You're fucking me over. And Luke too!"
"Still think they get along just fine?" Chloe mumbled as they rushed into the house. They stopped in their tracks after finding the two still in the living room. "Guys?" Chloe nervously interrupted. She held her ground when the two glared at her. "The girls are waiting.. Is everything okay?"
Stacie forced a wide grin at the two who cautiously stood in the hallway.
"Everything is fine! Isn't that right, Aubrey?!" She turned to the blonde. "Well, not in this instance but maybe if you keep telling yourself that, it'll become true.. I mean, that's what you've been doing for like three fucking years, so why stop now, right?"
Beca stepped aside as Stacie strode past them and out the door.
"Bree? What the hell was that?" Chloe asked after finally stepping into the room.
"Stacie Conrad, everybody! That was.." Aubrey dropped onto her couch and rubbed her temples. "Stacie Goddamn Conrad."
Chloe nodded when Beca quietly excused herself to give the two some privacy.
"Are you finally going to talk to me now?"
"We don't have time." Aubrey stared down at her feet. "There's no time."
"We should talk, Bree. You need someone to talk to."
"We can't, they're waiting for us-"
"Well, they can wait a little longer!" Chloe was losing her patience, which was a rare thing to occur. Very rare considering she still hasn't confessed her feelings to Beca yet after four years. She's very patient, usually. But Aubrey being practically her family and avoiding this conversation that absolutely needed to happen, pushed all the buttons she tried so hard to hide.
"We'll talk. And I promise I will tell you everything.. But we need to get through this party first."
Chloe glared down at her, it was the first time she's seen Aubrey break down like this; quietly and not puking everywhere. She hated it, but she couldn't exactly show her soft side if Aubrey still wasn't willing to talk about it yet.
"You promise?"
"Yes, I promise."
"Fine.. Pull yourself together and hurry the hell up, I'll be waiting in the bus."
Chloe huffed when Aubrey nodded. She was already leaving when Aubrey spoke up again.
"Thank you." The redhead turned back around to meet her eyes and instantly, she felt a pang of guilt in the pit of her stomach. "For.. dealing with my breakdowns."
They shouldn't be here. They shouldn't be going out to get drunk in celebration for Aubrey's soon to be married life if the bride-to-be was this broken and confused about it all.
".. One word.. and all of this could be called off, Bree. Just give me the word. I will stop it all from happening.. Let me help you. Just tell me to."
"Don't. Everything needs to go off without a hitch-"
"Without a hitch?! There's been loads of hitches already, Bree!"
"Well then, without anymore!"
She frowned, suddenly finding the courage from the anger fuming in her chest
".. You need to break it off with Luke. It shouldn't be this hard for you, Bree. It doesn't work like this. You can't force these things." Chloe shrugged at her before returning to the bus.
"Everything okay?" Beca whispered in Chloe's ear, glancing at Stacie who sat in the back of the bus beside Amy. The four girls had already put on their fake smiles for the rest of the group, pretending everything was fine when it truly was far from it.
"This party is supposed to be fun, but here I am having the most stressful week of my life.. I just want to go home, Beca.. Maybe take a nap, have some wine, catch up on some TV shows, eat some ice cream."
"Hey, you planned this shindig, it would look pretty bad if you bailed on it."
"I still don't even understand why we're here right now. We shouldn't be here, Beca. She doesn't want to be here, she doesn't even want to marry him." The redhead glared at Aubrey who was laughing at something Cynthia Rose said. Aubrey had always been good at forcing a smile. "Look at her. She's so good at faking it. I love her but I hate her. She's killing me. I could call all of this off you know?"
"You should loosen up, Chlo."
Chloe shook her head. "This is bull."
".. Yeah, I think you need to loosen up." Beca nudged her with a shoulder. "You need this weekend to not be a bust so.. don't let it be a bust, Chlo."
Chloe stared down into Beca's lazy eyes as the brunette slowly blinked at her.
"How are you so calm in all of this?"
"I'll let you in a little secret. I'm actually dying inside, I'm just really good at hiding it." Beca shrugged, happy to cause the redhead to chuckle even just a little in the mess that was Aubrey Posen's bachelorette party. "So what's first on your bachelorette party extravaganza?"
"What do you think?" Chloe grinned.
"Strip club?"
"Strip club." Chloe happily nodded.
"What about Em?"
Chloe averted her gaze from Beca to the younger girl who sat beside Flo.
"She's eighteen, they'll let her in. She'll have fun. If not, we'll have fun watching her reaction."
"I never pegged you for the evil kind."
"There's a lot you don't know about me." Chloe suggestively whispered before winking at her.
The strip club was nothing like Beca had expected. It was aptly named The Wild Wild West and unsurprisingly, everything was western themed, from the gritty floor boards to the saloon that served nothing but hard liquor. On the stage was a wall with a western styled building painted on it with 'JAIL' painted at the top of that and a pair of cafe doors at the bottom. In the corner of the club was a group of middle aged women, probably enjoying 'book club' a lot more now that they had a few new members. The music that hummed from the speakers was nothing but blues which Beca thought worked surprisingly well with the whole dirty, gritty vibe.
Emily had to get 'x's written on her hands and everyone teased her for it, of course they did.
"Ha!" Beca clapped her hands. "This place is so.. gross."
Chloe led the group to a pair of tables at center stage before grabbing Beca to get drinks.
"Anything?" Chloe asked as they waited for their drinks.
"Nothing happened yet, Chlo. Can you just calm down and let everything play out first?"
"I'm sorry- I'm just worried."
"I know you are but, nothing's happened yet other than her sulking when she thinks no one's looking." Beca shrugged, not surprised at the lack of progress. "And I don't think anything is going to happen with the girls here and all."
"You never know."
"Well, what about Aubrey? Hmm?" Beca pursed her lips and tilted her head expectantly.
"Nothing. She keeps side glancing at me though. It's making me nervous."
"Yeah, well now you know how I felt during my first year."
"Beca, trust me when I tell you I have known how you felt your first year.. You didn't know Alice. She was worse than Aubrey."
"Bullshit."
"Beca.. Why do you think Aubrey and I are so close? And why do you think I was always on your side when Aubrey was always having her freak outs? I sympathize, I really do.. I think Aubrey had just forgotten what it was like to be new to it all."
"Yeah, like how you forgot?"
Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yes. Like how I forgot. Now please stop bringing that up. Like I said, it was a dark time for me."
"Alright, fine."
Chloe thanked the bartender when she finished pouring their shots and pitcher of beer before leading Beca back to the tables. "We got alcohol!" She sing-songed as the rest of the girls cheered and clapped.
After a few hours of drinking and lap dances, most of the bellas were sufficiently drunk. And the table was littered with empty shot glasses, stacked into multiple glass towers that formed a wall that Chloe happily hid behind.
"Chloe." Beca called, trying to get the redhead's attention for the hundredth time that day.
"Chloe here, copy."
"You're drunk."
"Only a little bit, I'm tipsy.. topsy turvy, aye aye matey. Where's me treasure?!" Chloe giggled hysterically as she pounded her fist on the table, almost knocking over her glass fort in the process. "Come on, Beca! I just got a job!"
"We're supposed to be watching Stacie and Aubrey. What are you doing?" Beca quickly removed a tower of glasses from the wall so she could look at her.
"I am watching them. See? I'm-I'm watching Aubrey.. with me pirate telescope." Chloe plucked a shot glass from one of the towers and brought it up to her eye before leaning close to Aubrey's face and smiling widely.
"What are you doing, Chloe?" Aubrey questioned after Chloe leaned in a bit too close and almost fell out of her chair.
"I'm watching you! With me one good eye.. because I be a pirate." Chloe turned wide-eyed back to Beca and gasped. "Pirates have parrots because pirate spelled backwards is parrot!" She yelled, holding her head in her hands, mouth hanging open.
"No, it's not Chlo.." Beca shook her head trying hard not to laugh at her. It wasn't often that she got to witness Chloe this drunk.
She turned to Aubrey as Chloe continued to try to spell out 'pirate' backwards.
"You're not drinking.."
"Neither are you." Aubrey shrugged before taking a sip of her water.
"I feel like if I get drunk too, we might all do something stupid and end up killing ourselves. Someone needs to be sober. What's your excuse? This is your party after all."
"I don't feel like it."
Beca nodded understandingly before turning back to Chloe who was still struggling to spell.
"P-.. P-.. No.. no that's not right. P-.. P-"
"So, Aubrey's not drinking."
Chloe gasped and glared at the blonde.
"This party is for you! Where's the manager?! Bring out the big toys! Manager! Do it now!" Beca threw her hand over Chloe's mouth but quickly retracted it when the redhead licked her palm.
"Chloe! What-"
"Shh! It's all part of the big plan!"
Aubrey quickly turned to her. "What plan?!"
"Okay, I'm cutting you off. Water from now on, got it?" Beca waved Aubrey off as she pushed the pitcher out of the redhead's reach.
"No! Don't drink the sea! My men, they lost their minds to the sea! Good fellows they were, yes, darn good, indeed.." Chloe blinked slowly. ".. I'm gonna puke."
Beca quickly pulled the redhead by her arm and led the girl into the restroom. The redhead dashed for the nearest stall and was happy to find it unoccupied. Beca held her hair back and patted her back softly as she gagged. She grimaced at the sound of Chloe puking, it was horrible.
Chloe on the her hand, was happy to have most of the poison out of her system.
"You okay there?" Beca finally asked after the redhead spat a few times, trying to get the taste of vomit out of her mouth.
"Yep. Nope. Twice in less than 24 hours, that's a record. I'm disappointed in myself. I used to be better than this!"
"Sure you did, Red. Come on." Beca pulled her up by her arms before kicking the flush lever and leading her to the sink. "Rinse." Chloe obliged, taking a few swigs of clean water and spitting. "Here. I came prepared." The brunette held a mint to her mouth. Slowly, she leaned forward and wrapped her lips around the tablet and Beca's fingertips, pulling the mint out of Beca's pinched fingers with her tongue.
"Thanks, beb." Chloe tossed the mint around in her mouth teasingly.
"You good to go back out there?" Beca finally asked after a very long three second haze. A haze she was only snapped out of by the hollering of the bellas back in the club. She wiped her now sweaty palms on her jeans.
"What's a pirate if she can't handle her rum?! Nothing I say!"
".. Okay, Red. You're okay. Let's go." Beca led her out of the bathroom but stopped when she spotted Aubrey on stage. Wearing a sheriff's hat. In a chair. With a hunk of a 'sheriff' circling her, dragging his baton across her shoulders and up and down her thighs. "What the hell?"
"It's all part of the plan, Beca." Chloe breathed in her ear, making Beca glad she gave her a mint before they left the restroom.
The sheriff started to sing to Aubrey as they found their seats with the rest of the girls. Beca made good on her word, keeping her eyes on Stacie who was in the process of knocking one back.
"You fucking suck!" The long legged brunette shot out her chair and pointed an unsteady finger at the stripper.
"Stacie, what are you doing?!" Beca hissed.
"Shut up, Beca! He sucks!"
The man on stage turned around to face the drunk brunette as she yelled.
".. Whoa, there darlin'. How bout you sit your pretty self down and enjoy the show like your good friend here?" He politely asked, hooking his baton on the belt of his chaps before crossing his arms across his very impressive and very exposed pecs.
Beca was surprised he stayed in character, if she was in his place, she would have lost every bit of chill she had. Chloe seemed lost for words, still incapacitated from the alcohol still in her system, but trying to sober up judging by her already half empty glass of water.
"Are you seeing this, Chlo?" Beca whispered, scared to interrupt the show.
"You're seeing this too? I was beginning to think my water was spiked with something-"
"No! You fucking suck!" Stacie shouted. "I could do so much better and I haven't given a lap dance to anyone in like a whole month!"
Beca quirked a brow. A month doesn't seem that long ago for practice at lap dancing. She's never even given a lap dance to anyone before. But then again, this is Stacie Conrad.
"And I could sing better than you too!" Stacie didn't seem like she was going to let this one go.
"You really think so?" He dared, holding his scruffy chin a bit higher than before.
Stacie stepped forward. "Fuck yeah." She spat out.
".. Show me what you got then, girly." His deep voice echoed through the deadly quiet room from the speakers.
She glanced back at the rest of the girls, all speechless and frozen in their seats, before smiling at Aubrey who was fidgeting nervously in her seat on stage.
"Harrison!"
The man on stage held up his hand at who Beca assumed was the manager who stood, surrounded by a few other strippers. Beca thought he looked like a mob boss with his track jacket, although the half-naked men behind him made Beca chuckle a little at the sight.
"It's okay, Kirby. Let her do her thing. I wanna see what she says she got." He smiled as Stacie made her way onto the stage and slipped off his headset, handing it over to the drunk brunette.
"Go Stacie!" Amy hollered, breaking the tense silence. "Show him how you're supposed to grind on a proper lady!" She pulled out her phone and started to record the scene.
Stacie stood in front of a visibly nervous Aubrey, staring her down with the most subtle smirk Beca had ever seen in her life.
Beca could see words being exchanged but couldn't hear a thing until the music came back on.
"No, no, no. I can't do this with this shit music!" Stacie pulled out her phone and tossed it to over Harrison. "Put that on the speaker. Slow motion, Trey Songz."
He shook his head in disbelief before walking over to the booth where the manager stood.
"Honestly, what the fuck is happening, Chlo?" Beca whispered again.
"I don't know.."
Again, music started playing through the speaker.
Stacie sang for a while, teasing Aubrey with a brush of her finger across the jaw here and there, circling her and leaning over her to sing into her ear. Dragging her hands across her shoulders and lightly trailing her nails up and down her neck, and placing a single finger on the blonde's parted lips.
She returned to face Aubrey snagging the blondes hand and placing it at the bottom of her shirt. Telling the blonde to pull her closer without words.
Beca's eyes widened when Aubrey visibly but hesitantly pulled her onto her lap.
"What the fuck is happening? What.. the.. what the fuck?" She breathed out, glancing at the rest of the girls who sat there watching the scene unfold. "Are you guys seeing this? Am I the only sober one here? Is this registering in your guys' brains? Legacy? Legacy? Tell me this is happening for real."
"This.. is.. happening." Emily squeaked, peeking between her fingers. "For real."
Baby, I just wanna get you out them clothes
I just wanna see you dance in..
Stacie's hips were thrusting in a different direction with each clap in the song. Beca had never seen anyone move like that, she had to admit, it was extremely hot. Suddenly everything was happening at double the pace, Stacie placed a hand behind her on Aubrey's knee and the other behind the blonde's shoulder, holding the chair for stability.
Slow motion
We can take, we can take, we can take our time, baby
She was rolling her body, and grinding her hips against Aubrey's torso before leaning forward until their noses were practically touching. Again, she sang with the song, making sure to breathe a little harder in Aubrey's face.
"Baby, why don't you make yourself comfortable
While I go and put this tongue on you-"
"Okay!" Aubrey yelled, placing her hands on Stacie's waist to stop all the movements and friction. "Okay! Stop. This is extremely inappropriate." She pushed the brunette away and stood, accidentally pushing the chair over onto the floor.
"Aubrey-"
Aubrey interrupted Stacie, not wanting to hear anything she had to say. "You are drunk, Stacie! We should leave this fine establishment." She turned to the manager. "Thank you so much for the drinks and the lap dance Mr. Harrison, here, did, It was.. pleasant, I guess?" She dashed off the stage, and Stacie followed.
"Stacie! That was aca-mazing, Jesus Christ, where did you learn how to do that hip thing?!" Amy asked excitedly.
"Um.. Amy! I'm kinda busy- Aubrey!"
The blonde ignored her, gathering her things and heading back to the bus without waiting for anyone to follow.
"Holy fuck!" Beca yelled, finally finding the right words to express her thoughts.
"My card is on file!" Chloe shouted as she led the rest of the girls out of the club.
"That really just happened?" Chloe sipped from her water bottle that she stole from the mini bar in the back of the bus. "I'm starting to think that Stacie didn't have a thing with Luke." She glanced between the two who were both silent in their seats at opposite ends of the bus.
"You think? If Aubrey didn't stop her, I think she would have finished with an orgasm-"
"Beca!" Chloe shoved her playfully. She was still a bit tipsy but the alcohol was surely wearing off. "I shouldn't have gotten drunk yet, I don't think I'm going to remember most of what happened."
"Amy recorded it."
Chloe's eyes lit up. "Thank the aca-gods for Fat Patricia." She joked.
"Yeah. I'd ask her to put it on Youtube if I knew Aubrey wouldn't kill me for it.."
"She totally would. And I don't think I'd be able to stop her this time."
"This time?"
"Mhm.."
"Okay, so what's next, Red?"
Chloe perked up. "So, Aubrey's dad is crazy, you know that. So, of course he's going to teach his daughter how to shoot a gun."
"What?" Beca blurted, suddenly afraid of the idea of Aubrey with a gun.
"You can relax.." Chloe smiled brightly. "We're going paintballing."
"CR." Aubrey tossed Cynthia Rose a green bandana as the woman came to stand next to her.
"Lilly." Chloe was surprised when Lilly caught her yellow bandana with her teeth.
Beca was offended at the fact that Lilly was Chloe's first pick and she didn't hide it. She glared at Chloe, mouth hanging open, feigning offense but smiled when Chloe mouthed a sympathetic 'sorry' to her.
"Flo."
"Beca." Second choice, not bad. Beca surprisingly caught the bandana and tied it on her upper forearm using her teeth, before adjusting her vest to let in some ventilation.
"Amy."
"Em." Chloe smiled, glad to have the last sober person on her team.
"Ashley."
"Stacie." Chloe figured Aubrey didn't want to choose Stacie anyways after what just happened, so what was the point of separating Jessica and Ashley? She frowned when the long legged brunette unsteadily shuffled over to their group. "You'll get Jessica because you're the bride and we'll let you have the advantage of an extra body. Though, it probably won't do you any good."
Aubrey grinned evilly. "You guys better be good at hiding because my trigger finger has been itching all month." She turned and her team followed happily.
The Georgia heat was unforgiving and the humidity of the setting sun had them sweating before they even got fitted into their gear. The scrap of car they crouched behind was warm at the touch and the thick summer breeze was disappointingly insufficient in providing temporary relief from the heat.
"Thanks so much for picking me first, Chlo. I really appreciate it." Beca forced a smile, waiting for Chloe to apologize profusely as she traced the barrel of her gun in circles along the dirt.
"Beca, come on, if I didn't choose Lilly first, then Aubrey would have and then they would've had this in the bag. We wouldn't stand a chance."
"Lilly's our secret weapon? Not me?"
"Yes. Okay guys huddle up!" Chloe smiled at the girls who quickly shuffled over. "Here's the plan, we go on the defensive."
"What? No!" Stacie crossed her arms defiantly. "I-I want to shoot somebody."
"Stacie, they're going to come over here, into our territory. We hide, we ambush, we win."
Beca smiled at Chloe's confidence.
"You sure Aubrey will be okay with that? It is her bachelorette party after all." Beca glanced at the rest of the team, waiting for them to agree.
"She wouldn't want us to throw it for her. She'll be fine as long as she gets to shoot somebody today." Chloe winked. "Okay, Em, you're the look out, go lay down on the top of that hill. You can snipe right? You always look like you're squinting so you should be able to snipe from up there." She pointed over to a hill behind them that had a very plastic bush on the top of it, it was like a toupee for mother nature. "Or you could just hide up there until the action dies down.. I'm pretty sure sniping takes a lot of practice and a special type of gun or whatever."
"Got it."
"Lilly.." Chloe frowned at the Asian girl and shrugged. "Do whatever you need to do, I trust you to win this for us."
Lilly nodded before scurrying off on her own.
"Becs, Stace, we stick together and hide, we'll ambush whoever crosses paths with us. Come on.. Em, get on that hill!"
"Aye aye, Cap!" Emily darted off as the three ran off to find a good spot for the ambush.
The blow horn sounded and suddenly it was on.
Beca leaned against a white concrete wall that was freckled with green and yellow paint as Chloe adjusted the bandana on her wrist. She didn't bother to ask if the redhead needed help before reaching out and retying the cloth for her.
"Thanks, beb. You look adorable in your helmet and goggles by the way."
"Do not try to play me right now. I'm still mad I wasn't your first pick."
"I'll make it up to you. Now focus, we need to win." Chloe glanced to her left at Stacie who stood across the way inside of a giant plastic tunnel that was also blemished with paint. They quickly gave each other a thumbs up before continuing to scan the area.
"Why should I focus if Lilly is our secret weapon? Lilly, our holy savior!"
"Beca.."
"I'm surprised that this is what we're doing now, we're going to have paint in our hair and then we're going clubbing? I'm assuming we're going clubbing. We are going clubbing right?"
"Becs, hush. It'll all work out."
Beca noticed Chloe was already sweating, her hair was pulled up in a ponytail and her neck glistened under the low sun.
"But we are going clubbing right? After this?"
"Do you think you get special treatment or something? I'm not going to tell you everything, Beca." Chloe crossed her arms, holding her paintball gun against her chest.
"But I do get special treatment, don't I?"
Distant footsteps interrupted Chloe's thought process. They were coming from their left side, beyond where a single drunk Stacie hid inside of her tunnel.
Stacie nodded lazily after Chloe gestured to her. A hooked finger followed by a point and the universal sign for talking.
She signaled Beca to follow her behind another wall, adjacent to the tunnel.
"What did that mean?" Beca whispered. "We never establish hand signals."
"Bait. You. Talk. I'm surprised she understood being all drunk."
They crouched, following the wall north, away from the tunnel and turned left at the corner cautiously sweeping their guns as they scanned for any movement. They could see the other end of the tunnel about twenty feet away, diagonally to their left.
"You see 'em?"
"No." Beca whispered, following the redhead close behind.
Chloe pivoted left and Beca right. Fingers rested on their triggers, watching for any movement.
They pivoted again at a lack of enemies, back to their previous position to continue their advance.
"This is fun. We should do this more often." Chloe breathed out.
"This is the most nerve-wracking experience of my life and I never want to do this ever again." Beca snagged Chloe's arm and pulled her behind a wall to their right.
"What?"
"Sh.." The brunette gently laid her hand over the redhead's entire face. She felt Chloe's lips curl into a grin under her palm.
Amy's loud whisper came from ahead. "Do-do you see them?!"
"Puta, don't you know to shut up when someone is trying to shoot you? This is just like that time I accidentally went into this warehouse where a cartel was-"
"Y'all need to s-shut the hell up." Cynthia Rose hissed.
Beca knew they were still drunk. She remembered the three knocking back shots back at the strip club and could hear their feet lazily shuffling through the dirt.
"We could take them." She whispered.
"Sh.." Chloe waited.
"What the fuck?!" Stacie's voice echoed from the tunnel.
They peeked out from the wall just in time to see the three quietly scurrying towards the opening of the giant tube with their backs to them.
"Let's go." They crept forward, barrels aimed at the backs of the unsuspecting three who cautiously stood at the opening of the tunnel, ready to pounce on Stacie.
They stopped and crouched to the floor once they got into range.
"Now." Chloe breathed out through an evil grin.
The three scrambled as the paintballs pelted them.
Beca never knew how soothing the sound of quick hisses of air was until now.
Amy was the first to go down. Beca accidentally shot her leg but that didn't stop her from continuing to tap the trigger. She giggled as the blonde screamed, flipping and rolling on the floor like a fish out of water.
Cynthia Rose dropped herself to the ground in an attempt to make it harder for them to shoot her but she was still covered in paint.
Flo on the other hand managed to dodge every single plastic pellet that came her way. She flipped and spun out of sight, prompting Beca to frustratedly waste some of her ammo on the wall she scurried behind.
They approached the two on the floor and high fived each other after making sure Flo wasn't going to pop out and catch them by surprise.
Amy wriggled on the floor, clutching her thigh. "You shot my leg! You're supposed to aim for the vest!"
"Sorry, it was an accident. You okay?" Beca was almost sincere in her apology.
"I can take it! But I'm just saying." The two stood and brushed the dirt off of their clothes.
"Y'all gotta wait in the dead zone." Chloe sing-songed.
"We know." The two responded in unison before dragging themselves around a corner and out of view.
They smiled at each other but jumped when they heard a single wisp of air and the crack of a pellet against plastic a moment later.
"Fuck." Stacie groaned. "I wanted to shoot somebody."
Chloe grabbed Beca and pulled her to the side of the tunnel where they knew Stacie was still hidden inside of.
Slowly, the redhead peeked around the corner and spotted Jessica and Ashley standing behind Stacie who had a single splotch of green paint on her back.
She quickly retreated behind the wall of the tunnel when Ashley screamed and shot in her direction. They watched as paintballs shot out of the tunnel and impacted a wall ahead. It lasted for a minute, the screaming and shooting, and when it finally ended, they knew that they had both ran out of ammo.
Chloe smiled as she crept into the tunnel. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" She teased, barely slurring anymore.
"You don't need to shoot us, we could just go to the dead-" Beca lifted her barrel and shot a single pellet against Jessica's vest, causing the blonde to frown.
Chloe aimed at Ashley who ran quicker than she could pull the trigger. She quickly followed her, turning left once out of the tunnel, back to where she has just explained the hand signals to Beca. Chloe was ready to end the chase with a single flick of her finger when it started to rain pellets. Beca quickly pulled her back, ducking behind a wall to their right as Ashley tumbled to the ground, they giggled as she was peppered with paintballs.
Beca glanced up after the dust had settled, spotting Lilly perched on the top of a wall.
"How the hell did she get up there? Is that cheating?"
"Our secret weapon." Chloe winked.
Beca kept her eyes on Lilly, she was like an owl up there, her head swiveled back and forth at a constant speed, it was a bit scary. Her brows furrowed in confusion when the girl flinched.
"What just happened?" They watched Lilly drop herself from the edge, hanging from a single hand before kicking off the wall and landing on a nearby car. They spotted a bit green on her right side as she made her way to the dead zone.
Beca's eyes shot across the way and she met eyes with Aubrey who quickly darted out of view.
"Oh shit." The brunette whispered. "There goes our secret weapon."
They jumped when Emily appeared from behind them.
"Em?"
"Flo got me. I didn't even see her." Emily shrugged as she walked off towards the dead zone.
"She's behind us then." Beca whispered. "We're surrounded. We need to hole up."
"Yeah.. let's go."
They found another car that actually had working doors and sat inside, patiently scoping the area. They sat on the left side of the scrap of metal since the right side was up against a wall. Beca was crouched down in the back seat with the barrel of her gun hanging out the window and Chloe was doing the same in the front seat.
"I'm hungry." Beca whined.
"I feel like most of our conversations start with you saying you're hungry."
"Yes, they do. Your point being?"
"Nothing. Maybe I should have planned a trip to have dinner today."
"We're not stopping to get food today?"
"I forgot."
"If you had let me help you plan this, I promise you, I wouldn't have let you forget about food."
"Relax, we could stop by some fast food place or something on the way to the club."
"So we are going to the club after this."
"Duh.."
"But we're covered in paint."
Chloe shrugged. "I mean, not really.. most of the paint got on the vests."
"So the plan was strip club, paintball, clubbing? I gotta say, that's some poor planning."
"No Beca, half their team is still drunk. I'd say it's great planning. Plus, you always have to end a bachelorette party with the club."
Beca gasped. "Wait! You rigged this game? Is that why you told me to watch Stacie? So I wouldn't drink?"
"No, I told you to watch Stacie because she needed to be watched."
"But you got drunk."
"And yet, here I am, pretty darn sobered up. I bounce back pretty quick."
"You're kind of.. really cunning."
Chloe glanced back at the brunette and smiled. ".. Thanks, beb-"
Aubrey emerged ahead of them again from behind the wall the car sat beside.
Shots were fired. Beca scrambled, trying to aim at the blonde who confidently shot into the car in a way that reminded Beca of how Tony shot his tommy gun in the movie Scarface- a reference Beca only knew of because Jesse had made her watch it with him. Aubrey fanned the bullets back and forth and Beca struggled to get her gun even pointed to the front of the car.
The dust settled before Beca could even pull the trigger but she was happy to find a bit of yellow paint dead center on the blonde's vest.
"You got her, Chlo."
"Yep.." Chloe sighed as she kicked the door open and stepped out into the dusky air. Beca frowned when the redhead turned around to face her, she had three broken shells, sticking to the bright green paint on the upper half of her vest.
"Aw, dude.."
"Of course we took each other out!" Aubrey approached. "Though, I'd say I did three times better. I made sure not to hit that cute face of yours." Aubrey flicked the plastic shells from Chloe's vest and smiled widely. "Nice shot though. Can't say the same for Beca."
"Hey! I- the barrel is too long, the damn seat was-"
"Becs.." Chloe slowly turned to the brunette still in the car. "Win this for us, 'kay?"
"Okay.. I mean, I'll try."
"You got this." They smiled at each other, only interrupted by Aubrey when she dragged Chloe away by her elbow.
"Come on, Chlo. To hell we go."
Chloe followed Aubrey to the dead zone and smiled when they were warmly welcomed by the rest of the girls.
"Who's left?" Emily asked from her seat beside Amy on the rounded stone platform that sat in the middle of the small clearing.
"Beca and Flo." Chloe happily replied, she was proud of her little alt-girl.
"Oh, we got this. Beca cannot take Flo out."
Chloe squinted at Amy. "Beca can win this, Amy. Just watch." She confidently stated as Stacie approached.
"Bree, can we talk?"
Aubrey glanced at Chloe before nodding and following the brunette to a corner, far enough that if they whispered, no one would hear.
"So, Chloe!" Amy smiled widely.
"Oh, no. Amy, please not now."
"Why not?" The blonde approached slowly. "Because Beca isn't here to help lie?"
"Amy-"
"Was she good?" Amy's eyebrows bounced playfully.
"Amy! We-"
"Was who good?"
Chloe fidgeted with her vest nervously as the blonde slowly turned to the curious, Cynthia Rose.
"Beca." Amy happily responded.
"We didn't!" Chloe huffed, growing more frustrated with each wide eyed glance she received.
Everyone slowly stood from their seats and surrounded Chloe, each with a cheeky grin on their face.
"I saw you!" Amy drawled.
"You didn't see anything! I was-"
"She was in her little lacy red bra and panties, I saw her! And Beca was there and they were like giggling!"
"It wasn't like that!"
"Aca-scuse me?" Emily and Cynthia Rose made way for Aubrey who approached from her brief chat with Stacie. "You slept with Beca?!"
Chloe glanced around nervously with her chin down, like a sad puppy in trouble. "No, I-"
"Sit down." Aubrey hooked her arm and led her to the platform. "Tell me everything."
She shrunk, glancing at each girl who either had their arms crossed across their chests or their hands on their hips. ".. There's nothing to tell! What am I supposed to say, guys? That I actually had the guts to make a move and she reciprocated my feelings and we spontaneously just.. did it?!"
"Yes!" They all replied in unison.
"Well that didn't happen!" Chloe's eyes fell to the floor. "It was just a stupid dare.. one that I pathetically suggested."
She closed her eyes when she heard them all sigh.
".. Disperse! All of you!" Aubrey shooed the girls away before sitting down next to the redhead. ".. You okay, babe?"
"Yeah, it's just that.." Chloe blinked at the floor. "I'm gonna tell her, once we're alone, I'm going to tell her everything."
"That's good. That's great, even."
"Last night, I heard her.. she was talking to a wine bottle." Chloe grinned. "She's so stupid, she thought I couldn't hear but- she.." Chloe bit her lip, beaming at Aubrey. "She said she was going to kiss me. And she said a crap load of other things I barely remember but I'm not sure I should tell you that part."
"You're kidding. She said this to a bottle of wine?"
"She was pretty drunk."
Aubrey smiled. "That's-.. Chloe, this is it! Right?! This is it! You know she wants to kiss you, you know she likes you too. That's- this is everything you've been waiting for."
"I know! I know."
"So when are you trying to-"
"Today, hopefully.. But everything is going to change once I tell her."
"Yeah, for the better. You gotta do this, Chlo. You'll be so happy once it's all out there."
"Yeah, you're right.. You think you maybe want to follow in my footsteps?"
Aubrey squinted suspiciously. ".. What do you mean?"
She scoffed in response. "What do I mean? Stacie is what I mean. You know, I actually thought that the problem was between her and Luke, but.. it's you, isn't it? You and her."
Aubrey blushed and she knew she had her.
"Are any of us straight here?" Chloe teased.
"Probably not."
"Do you love her?"
Aubrey froze.
"Bree?" Chloe smiled as she softly nudged the blonde with a shoulder. "Do you love her?"
Her grin grew wider when Aubrey subtly nodded.
"More than Luke?"
Aubrey didn't hesitate to nod again.
"Then what's the problem?"
"It's not that black and white."
"Not everything is as complicated as you make it out to be.. For what it's worth, I think you should go for it, Bree. I know you love Luke and you don't want to leave him alone, but you can't string him along just because you pity him. I know you keep going back to her. I see it. Whenever we're all together.. I see the way you look at her. You gotta choose, you can't have both."
"I don't have both. I have one."
"No, Bree.." Chloe jutted her chin at Stacie sulking by herself in a corner. "You have both. Remember what you told me? Like what your father always said, If the bungee rope is strong, jump."
"You actually remembered that?"
"Yeah.. it kind of makes sense in a really weird way."
"Well, everything he says makes sense, Chlo.."
Chloe nodded sympathetically. "Whatever you say, Bree. So, is that what's stopping you? The fact that she's a girl? And that your father would probably try to drown you in holy water?"
"That's half of it."
"And the other half?"
"The other half.." Aubrey took a second to breathe. "The other half, you will get once we're not surrounded by nosy, garbage, dick licks."
Chloe chuckled, she's always loved Aubrey's insults.
Beca was bored and very much alone, still sitting tight inside of the car.
She jumped when the pairs of fluorescent and black lights that were perched at the top of each wall all turned on at once.
Suddenly, it was night time.
Flo was nowhere to be found.
And she really needed to pee.
Like.. really bad.
She noticed that her bandana glowed brightly under the fluorescent, black light combo. That's what she needed to look for. She scanned the area for the thousandth time, remembering that Flo had her bandana tied just above one of her knees.
It was quiet, the only sound being the faint buzzing from the lights above, and a cricket in the distance.
Her heart skipped a beat when she spotted Flo about five minutes later, cautiously creeping forward in the distance.
She slipped down lower in her seat, hiding her bandana from the light. Her heart was pounding through her chest and she made a mental note to research different ways to calm down in a situation like this, the second she got home. Maybe if she tried deep breathing.
With each step Flo slowly took in her direction, she took a breath. Inhaling with her right foot, and exhaling with her left.
Until she was finally close enough.
She held her breath and fired.
And missed.
She missed again and again as the girl ducked and somersaulted away from her.
She kept firing, in hopes of at least one her pathetic pellets would hit her but missed every time. Flo kept flipping, jumping and rolling back and forth, changing directions every time Beca would try to predict her movements. She fired until she couldn't anymore and Flo cartwheeled out of view again.
"Shit." She was out of ammo. "Fuck mee.." She cursed at herself for being stupid enough to waste ammunition. This is what karma looks like.
Chloe. Chloe has ammo.
She had to make it to the dead zone.
It was now or never.
One.
Two.
.. Three.
She kicked the door open and dashed around the car to cover behind the wall. She heard a paintball wiz by, connecting with the wall ahead and shrieked. She turned right, following the neon painted skull and arrow on the walls.
She had never run so fast in her life.
She really needed to pick up cardio again.
The arrow painted on the wall ahead of her pointed left. She was close, she could hear conversation but the footsteps behind her and the second pellet to fly by her head that day made her want to curl on the floor and cry. She watched the paintball shatter against the wall ahead of her and kicked up her speed when the paint splattered dead center on the skull's forehead.
"Chloe! Ammo! I need your gun!" She turned the corner, yelling at the top of her lungs, which she found to be very hard while running at top speed.
"Where are you?!" Chloe's voice was close.
She spotted another neon arrow and skull, pointing right, and followed the signs, ducking when another three pellets zipped by.
"I'm coming!" She shrieked when another pellet shot by her head. "The vest! Aim for the vest!"
"Puta! Stop running!"
She sprinted when she spotted bright neon letters spelling out 'DEAD ZONE' with an arrow pointing left.
"Shit! Chloe! Gun! Now!" She turned the last corner and was surprised to find Chloe's paintball gun thrown towards her. She was even more surprised when she actually caught it.
She spun on her feet and ducked behind the wall that had 'DEAD ZONE' painted on it and waited, staring at the girls who were scrambling in a panic, all afraid of becoming casualties.
Flo dashed into the dead zone but stopped when she couldn't find Beca in the mess that was The Bellas.
"Behind you-" Aubrey yelled.
But before Flo could even turn around or do another one of her ridiculous backflips again, Beca had already fired two shots in her back.
She lowered her barrel, staring at Flo as she caught her breath.
"Aw man.." Flo whined. "The cartel didn't train me to lose.."
"Beca!" Chloe screamed, jumping up and down towards the shocked brunette. "We won!"
Beca began bouncing along with the redhead.
"You did it!" Chloe yelled, wrapping Beca in a tight hug as they jumped up and down.
"Oh my God! Flo, you're fucking scary! I mean it would have been a lot worse if it was Lilly chasing me but you're pretty terrifying when you're trying to shoot me.. And you're supposed to aim for the vest!"
Flo shrugged after pulling off her vest. "Headshot kills."
"Who wants chicken nuggets?!" Amy yelled at nobody in particular.
Aubrey stared at her in disbelief. She puffed out her chest and frowned. "Amy, this is my bachelorette party! I am not eating chicken nuggets on my bachelorette party!" Her eyes shot to Chloe. "Chlo! I'm not having chicken nuggets! Tell her!"
"One hundred forty chicken nuggets, and two mcflurries! Oh! And one coffee for our great driver!" Chloe yelled, climbing back onto the bus, paper bags in hand. "One mcflurry for the bride, and one for Becs for winning." She danced as she made her way through the bus, tossing a bag of twenty nuggets to each person and hand delivering each of the mcflurries to her favorite two girls.
Beca smirked as the redhead settled back into her seat beside her. "You got me a mcflurry? I should win things more often, but then again that sounds like a lot of work."
"Dessert later. Protein first."
"You mean diabetes later, clogged arteries first."
"Yes, that's exactly what I mean." Chloe snatched the cup out of Beca's hand and set it aside.
"You got it, Red."
Chloe unintentionally shouldered Beca as the bus began moving again.
"How are you feeling? Still a little buzzed?"
"No, I think sweated most of it out. Is that possible? I think I drank enough water too. Which reminds me, I really have to pee."
"I have to pee too. Flo chasing me almost made me piss my pants." Beca grinned with half a nugget caught between her teeth as Chloe chuckled. "Any progress on the two over there?" Beca whispered, tilting her head towards Aubrey and Stacie. "Find out anything during your time in the dead zone?"
Chloe nodded excitedly. She grimaced as she swallowed her food much too soon.
"Come here." Chloe cupped Beca's ear and whispered. "It's Bree."
Beca leaned back and squinted at her. "What? What does that mean?"
Again, she leaned in and whispered. "It's Stacie and Bree. They're totally gay for each other."
"They're-" Beca jerked forward a few times. "They're- them two? Stacie and Aubrey? Aubrey and Stacie?" Chloe nodded, waiting for the shock to settle. "They're.. They've? For each other? With each other? That's.. Are you sure? That's- Them?!"
"I know right? I guess, Stacie's bi and Bree is.. I don't know? Um.. holy crap, I have no idea. What kind of best friend, slash non-relative sister, slash maid of honor am I? Oh my god, Beca! I'm a horrible maid of honor! I'm team Stacie. I'm supposed to be helping with this wedding stuff but instead I told the bride to break it off with her fiancé."
"But she's not even mad." Beca stared at the floor, still in shock as she popped a nugget in her mouth.
"Becs, what does that mean?!" She whispered.
"It means that.. Maybe she thinks you're right."
"I'm a horrible person."
"No, you're not. She can't have both, she has to choose."
"That's exactly what I said."
"It's like Toy Story 3, Aubrey is Andy. She just has to give the toys away so they can have fun playing with someone else when she knows she's not going to play with them."
"That sounds vaguely dirty."
Beca rolled her eyes. "All Pixar movies are vaguely dirty if you phrase the synopsis right."
"Oh really?"
"Try me." Beca dared, shoving another nugget into her mouth.
"Monsters Inc."
"Hairy beast takes care of little girl, she screams a lot."
"Jesus Christ! That's not vaguely dirty, that's just dirty."
"Close enough." Beca laughed.
"Up."
"Old dude has some fun with a little boy-"
"Oh my god!"
"And a lot of bitches.. I could go on all day."
"Finding Nemo."
"Umm.. hm. That one's tougher. I don't know? He touched the butt? Someone inks. There's squirting, I think? 'Just keep swimming' the motto for sperm everywhere! I don't know, pass?"
"I'll take it." Chloe giggled, actually beaming for the first time that day. "Brave."
"Bears. That's it. Just bears. And sausage fests." They chuckled. "Bears attend sausage fest!"
"You're going to hell for those."
"You're laughing too so I'll see you there.. Come on, keep them coming! I could do this for a living."
"Thanks, but I think I've heard enough. I'm surprised you know all these movies."
"Um, well I'm not sure if you remembered but I used to have a thing called a boyfriend who liked to shove movies down my throat. Also, I grew up with these movies unlike you, you old hag."
"Rude! And some of those are kind of recent."
".. I grew up physically yes, but not mentally."
Chloe scoffed. "I don't think you grew physically either."
"Now who's rude?!"
Chloe laughed. "You're an idiot." She muttered through a small smile.
"Two mean comments in a row. Who are you? I miss nice Chloe."
"Oh yeah?"
Beca hesitated. "Yes."
"I think I get why you're always grumpy.. it's kind of exciting."
"You're such a thrill seeker." The brunette mocked.
"What's so great about nice me anyways?" Chloe raised her eyebrows when Beca rolled her eyes. "What? Come on, I think I like being an asshole, it's going to be my new thing.."
"You could never be an asshole all the time.. it takes too much out of you. You don't work that way."
"And what do you know about the way I work?"
"Everything." Beca tossed a nugget in her mouth.
The redhead froze. ".. Aww." She smiled as shrunk into her seat, severely over exaggerating her flattered state.
Beca frowned, trying to hide her smile. "Why are you always so corny?"
"Me, corny? You're the one that said it."
"Yeah, but you always want to be weird about it."
"Are you complaining?"
Beca squinted at her. "That's a secret."
~Chapter 26 is waiting for you