A week later, the alarm clock rang, as Beca, Sarah, and Chloe were getting ready to head out for their USO Tour.
"Morning." Sarah yawned.
"Morning."
"Let's get up. We got a flight to catch in six hours." Sarah said.
"Sarah, it's only six in the morning. We still have a few hours." Beca said.
"Yes and since it's an international flight, we need to show up at the airport three hours in advance if we want to make good time." Sarah told her.
"Okay, okay." Beca said sleepily. "Just give me a moment."
"Alright. I'm gonna take a quick shower and then make breakfast." Sarah said.
One hour later, Beca headed into the kitchen where Sarah had finished making breakfast.
"Hmm, do I smell scrambled eggs?" Beca asked.
"You sure do." Sarah said as she gave Beca a plate of eggs.
"I got to say, I definitely enjoy your cooking." Beca said.
"Why, thank you." Sarah said as Chloe came into the kitchen.
"Mmm, those smell good." Chloe said sitting down at the table.
"Well, glad you think so because they are ready." Sarah said serving Chloe some eggs.
"So are we all set to head for the airport?" Beca asked.
"We should be all ready to go soon." Chloe answered.
Soon they hear someone knock at the door and Beca goes to answer it. She is met by Sarah's boyfriend, Matt.
"Hey Matt."
"Hi there ladies. Is Sarah around?" Matt asked.
"Hey, I wasn't sure I was going to see you today." Sarah said giving Matt a hug.
"Well, I wanted to swing by and catch you before you and your friends left on the USO tour." Matt said.
"Aww, you're so sweet. I'm gonna miss you while we're away."
"I'll miss you too." Matt said.
"I'll be sure to call when we land." Sarah said.
The two share a goodbye kiss before getting ready to part for a few weeks.
"Have a wonderful time, ladies." Matt said before leaving.
"You two are very lucky to have each other." Chloe said.
"He's such a sweetheart. It's been an amazing to be with him and connect the way we have." Sarah told them.
"I'm happy for you. It's good to see this is going so well. On that note, we better get going if we want to make our flight."
The girls all grabbed their luggage and headed out the door. By 8am that morning, Beca, Sarah, and Chloe were on their way to the airport to catch their flight to Spain and meet up with the other Bellas and By Noon, their plane left JFK. They had a layover in Rio which lasted a good two hours. The following morning, they and the rest of the Bellas landed in Spain.
Once the Bellas landed in Spain before going to the hotel, they made their way to the Naval station to meet up with the rest of the acts on the tour. Upon arrival they were greeted by two men in uniform.
"Bellas, welcome to your first stop in Rota, Spain. My name is Chicago and the man next to me is Zeke. We'll be your escorts for the USO Tour and we're glad to have you with us." He said before looking over at Aubrey's fiance.
"Chad Donaldson? Is that really you?" Chicago asked.
"Yeah, it's me. How've you been, Man? It's been too long."
"Hey Buddy, I haven't seen you in forever." Chicago greeted.
"You two know each other?" Aubrey asked.
"Yeah, he and I were Tampa University Class of 2011, and we both enlisted in the army the summer after graduation. Chicago Walp, this is my Fiance, Aubrey Posen and the rest of the Bellas."
"It's nice to officially meet you." Aubrey said.
"It's nice to meet you too."
"Since I'm along for the trip, you and I need to catch up." Chad told Chicago.
"Well there'll be plenty of time for that later, but right now let's you guys to sound check." Chicago said.
The group followed Chicago and Zeke into the Hanger for sound check where they met their tour mates, which consisted not of other a capella groups, but of full bands. Something the Bellas were not used to.These bands included a country band called Saddle Up, Evermoist a female rock group, and rapper Young Sparrow.They later learned that this was in fact a competition, and that DJ Khaled would choose one group to headline his tour. This fact surprised the Bellas yet they were willing to welcome any competition to come their way. It felt like old times, and unfortunately like old times came another failed riff off, leaving the girls feeling defeated.
During the riff off, a young man working for DJ Khaled had been watching the Bellas, in particular Beca. He is helping his boss look for talent to represent, and this man knew talent when he heard it. Chloe definitely noticed this guy notice Beca, and how he was looking at her. Was it with intrigue? Was he impressed? Was he in love? Whatever it was, Chloe knew she didn't like this feeling. She has felt very close to Beca through their years together, and Chloe felt a need to look out for her.
After sound check, Chicago and Zeke drove them to their hotel. Upon check in, Chad found the perfect opportunity to catch up with Chicago.
"So, how's life in the National Guard treating you?" Chad asked.
"I really enjoy it, but at the same time I often miss life back home." Chicago said.
"I'll bet. After you enlisted I thought I'd never see you again." Chad said.
"And look what happened. Here we are again." Chicago said.
"Right?!" Chad said.
The two friends enjoyed catching up after many years apart. Chad told his old friend all about meeting Aubrey,how much they got along, and how happy he is that hell soon get to call her his wife. Chad was definitely looking forward to the next chapter of his life with Aubrey. Meanwhile Aubrey is talking to Emily about her halt in writing.
"So, Emily is it true you're not writing anymore?" Aubrey asked.
"Well, I'm just taking a break for now. I know once this tour is over, I'll be up late getting caught up on schoolwork so I can graduate this Spring." Emily said.
"Well, promise me you won't forget about it. My dad always says 'Age wrinkles the body…'" Aubrey said, then Chad added. "...But quitting wrinkles the soul."
"I forgot I told you that one." Aubrey said.
"If there was any quote of your dad's that you've told me, I would remember them. Say, before I forget...if I'm going to be hanging around with you and the other Bellas, it'd be nice to know the rest of their names." Chad said.
"Oh, of course. Ladies, can you come here for a second?" Aubrey said as they all did so.
"Okay, Chad you remember Chloe, this is Jessica, Lily, Cynthia-Rose, Fat Amy, Ashley, Beca, Sarah, Flo, and Emily."
"Nice to officially know all of your names…" Chad said before realizing..."Wait a minute, did you say 'Fat Amy?'" He asked.
"Yeah, so bi..."
"Okay, okay."Aubrey interrupted. "Why don't we all get settled into our rooms."
"I think I'll refer to you as Amy." Chad said as Amy gave an approving thumbs up.
Soon the front desk clerk gave everyone their keys and head up to their rooms. As good as having their own rooms sounded, it quickly got lonely. While Chad took a shower, the Bellas joined together in one of the rooms while Jessica and Ashley bring a box of chocolate to share.
"So, we've never competed against bands that use actual instruments. So, what's the plan?" Beca asked.
"I think it's import to just be ourselves, and hopefully DJ Khaled will see that in us."
All the girls were in agreement since they didn't have any other choice. Of course Fat Amy wasn't shy about giving her honest opinion, blunt as it may be. Before long, Chad poked his head in to interject.
"If I may...you ladies have a gift that those bands don't have; you're able to sing together in acapella and harmonize perfectly. Take that as a bonus compared to what they can do."
"He does have a point." Chloe said. Once the girls had their fill of snacks, they opted to retire to their own rooms and get some rest before the show tonight. While they were alone, Beca and Sarah took a moment to talk.
"So this is a really nice place were staying in, huh?Beca said.
"Yeah, it is nice."Sarah said sitting next to Beca.
"So…?"
"So what?"Beca asked looking questioningly at her friend.
"So when are you going to tell Chloe you like her?"
"What makes you think that?"
"Because I know you. I've seen how flustered you are around her, and the way you look at her all the time. I think you've felt this way for awhile now."
Beca sighed because she knew Sarah was right, and of course she couldn't hide anything from her best friend. Sarah always knew her better than she knew herself.
"I don't know if she feels the same way."
"Maybe she does. Its obvious she adores you. She always compliments your music, and shes went to bat for you many times with Aubrey in the past."Sarah explained.
"Yeah but, she looked pretty chummy with Chicago back in the lobby. Sharing with him all her vet school dreams."
"She was probably just being friendly. I mean come on, you know Chloe. Shes a regular social butterfly; she likes to talk to everyone."
"Yeah maybe."Beca nodded. "So enough about me, what about you?"
"What about me?"
"Is there something you want to talk about, like what you got in the mail this morning?"
It seems Sarah couldn't hide from her best friend either, but she wasn't ready to tell her yet.
"Oh, ya know I've been applying to some orchestra companies, but I haven't heard back from any of them yet. Theres still a lot of paperwork to fill out."
Beca nodded accepting her explanation for now. She still sensed her friends was hiding something, but she didn't want to press her on it now.
The Bellas were backstage during their first night on the tour, getting ready and doing their makeup. All the while, Chloe could think of nothing but Beca. She knew she really cared about her, and she loved that they all lived together, but lately shes been thinking about how all their lives are changing, and what that would mean for them. Some of the girls have talked about starting families, Chloe herself has applied to vet school, and she knew she wanted her future to include Beca. Chloe doesn't know what to do with herself. Shes never had these feelings before, especially for a friend, but she cant ignore them anymore.
As they were preparing to go onstage, Chloe watched Beca talk to the same young man from this morning who works with DJ Khaled talking to Beca. He introduced himself as Theo, and from the moment he met them, there was a clear interest in Beca. Maybe it was just for the music, and maybe there was more on his mind. Beca is a beautiful and charismatic girl, so of course hed be interested in her. Maybe, was he? Chloe for certain was bothered by this, and she couldn't shake that feeling.