A/N: You can thank the Bellas for releasing the song and providing inspiration for this chapter. I'm not sure how soon I'll get the next one up, seeing as my oldest child was recently infected with COVID-19. She is asymptomatic, but understandably very upset and frightened. Please send positive thoughts, prayers, and/or good vibes that she tests negative this Friday (and that her brother and I do as well)!
Beca
Beca was feeling pretty lonely. She'd gotten an apology text from Aubrey, which she appreciated, but she didn't answer. She didn't even know what to say, and a part of her was still angry. However, the hurt she'd felt when Chloe hadn't had her back was far worse than her anger at Aubrey. Also, Jesse had gone from barely speaking to Beca to completely ignoring her.
She was glad that she had Spring Break coming soon. She was looking forward to spending some time with her mom, and she really liked the idea of working at the radio station, even though it was the night shift.
She kept picking up her phone to call or text Chloe and then putting it down. Every time she wanted to forgive the girl, her mind kept flashing back to that moment after the semi-finals. She'd been looking to the one person on whom she thought she could count for support to find she wouldn't even meet her eye. It kept reopening the wound. She knew this wasn't the healthiest way to go about things, but she just didn't know how to get it out of her mind.
A few of the Bellas had texted her. Ashley, Denise, Cynthia Rose, and even Lilly had each told her they'd liked what she'd done. It had made Beca feel a little better, and she'd even replied to them to thank them for their support and shared that she'd be working the night shift at the radio station during Spring Break. They'd all replied that they'd try to tune in.
She'd been most surprised to see a text from Stacie, although it came in sometime in the middle of the week.
S: I know Aubrey apologized to you, but I wanted to apologize as well. I thought your improvisation sounded amazing. I spotted the judges' reactions, and I think they were impressed. Either way, I know you were just trying to help. I should have helped you out, especially since your girlfriend didn't. For what it's worth, I know Chloe feels awful about what happened.
Beca simply responded that she accepted her apology and shared about her spring break slot at the radio station. She didn't know what else to say.
Things had been quiet on Chloe's part. Beca wasn't sure whether Chloe was giving her the space she'd asked for, or if she'd ruined things by slamming a door in her face. She felt bad for doing that, but she'd still been hurting so badly. Coffee and donuts weren't going to fix the problem, especially not only a few hours later.
The most surprising part was that the shower had been silent. She found she missed the duets far more than she thought she would. She found herself wanting to check and see whether it was Chloe's nodes bothering her, or if she was just too upset to sing. She didn't like either situation, actually.
Friday morning rolled around, and, by then, Beca had put together several new mixes for her shifts. She'd even managed to create playlists for each night, a few with a theme. She had no idea if Luke planned to listen, but she hoped he caught at least some of it. She'd had another night of lousy sleep. She'd first dreamed that Chloe had apologized to her, and she'd been more than a little disappointed to wake up alone. When she'd gotten her head together, she was especially sad that it had been a dream. She'd so vividly remembered kissing those lips, but none of that had happened. She went back to a fitful sleep, waking with a start. She'd had a nightmare this time. Chloe's plane had crashed on the way to Portland, and the girl had died before the two of them could reconcile.
She put on a pot of coffee and dragged herself to the shower. Just as she stepped under the water, she heard a familiar voice begin to sing.
You gotta go and get angry at all of my honesty
You know I try but I don't do too well with apologies
I hope I don't run out of time, could someone call a referee?
'Cause I just need one more shot at forgiveness
"No!" called Beca. Chloe knew she disliked Justin Bieber.
I know you know that I made those mistakes maybe once or twice
By once or twice I mean maybe a couple of hundred times
So let me, oh let me redeem, oh redeem, oh myself tonight
'Cause I just need one more shot at second chances
Yeah, is it too late now to say sorry?
'Cause I'm missing more than just your body
Oh, is it too late now to say sorry?
Yeah, I know that I let you down
Is it too late to say I'm sorry now?
Beca called, "No Bieber!"
Chloe was quiet for the rest of the shower, and Beca immediately felt guilty. Chloe had been trying, hadn't she? Besides, Beca really didn't want to be mad at her anymore. Her second dream had put things into perspective. The idea of something happening to her girlfriend before they could reconcile was just too awful to bear.
Once Beca finished her shower and dressed, she was just pouring herself a cup of coffee when she heard a knock at the door.
She looked out the peephole to see Chloe holding a bouquet of flowers. As Beca opened the door, Chloe began to sing.
I never meant to cause you any sorrow
I never meant to cause you any pain
I only wanted to one time to see you laughing
I only wanted to see you
Laughing in the purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
Purple rain, purple rain
I only wanted to see you
Bathing in the purple rain
"You know Prince?" asked Beca.
"Have I been living under a rock? Yeah."
Beca laughed. "Why does this conversation sound familiar?"
"I brought you some flowers. I didn't even know if you liked flowers, but these are my favorite," said Chloe, handing the bouquet to Beca.
"Come on in," said Beca, grabbing a big cup and filling it with water because she didn't have a vase for the flowers.
"I really am sorry," said Chloe. "I should have had your back. I'm an idiot. There's no excuse for what I did, and I hope you can forgive me."
"This week has been one of the loneliest I've had since I joined the Bellas," said Beca. "I know I made mistakes too. I accept your apology, and I'm sorry I shut the door in your face."
"I should have given you some more space," said Chloe.
"Right," said Beca. "So, can we just agree to move past this?"
"Definitely."
"I've missed you so much," said Beca.
"I've missed you too."
"But I do have something to tell you. Luke gave me the night shift for Spring Break. So I'll be staying at Barden. I guess we'll take a raincheck on that visit?"
"That's probably a good idea," said Chloe. "It turns out I'm having nodes surgery that week. My mom told me on Sunday. The season is over, and I'm tired of the pain."
"I think that's probably a good idea."
"Please don't tell Bree."
"No danger of that. We're not exactly talking."
"She said she apologized," said Chloe.
"Yeah, she did. But...I'm just not ready to talk to her yet."
"Okay, that's fair."
"Want some coffee and pop-tarts?" asked Beca.
"Sure," said Chloe.
"Why did you sing a Bieber song to apologize to me?"
Chloe gave a sly grin. "Because I know you hate Bieber. If you hadn't reacted at all, then I'd know you weren't ready to talk. It was actually Aubrey's idea, at least in part."
"You're lucky you're that pretty," said Beca. "Justin Bieber sucks."
They caught each other up on what they'd been doing for the past week. Chloe laughed when Beca told her that Luke had asked her out.
"He didn't know you were gay?" asked Chloe.
"Nope," she said.
"That's hilarious!"
"He was really nonchalant about it when I turned him down."
"That's Luke," said Chloe. "I'm so excited for you next week. I'll try to listen online."
"You don't have to."
"I want to."
"Okay," said Beca. "Hey, could you give me your mom or dad's contact information? I want to know the minute you're safely out of surgery."
Chloe texted her mom's contact info to Beca.
Once they were done breakfast, it was about time to head to campus for their classes. Beca found her girlfriend climbing into her lap before she could clear her breakfast dishes.
Chloe pushed a lock of Beca's hair back over her ear, causing the girl to shiver a little. "Can I?" she asked, staring at Beca's lips.
Beca could barely even nod before Chloe's lips were on hers. She instantly sighed into the kiss, pulling Chloe close. She'd missed this even more than she'd realized. Kissing Chloe was like coming home.
"I've missed this," Beca murmured when they broke apart.
"Me too," said Chloe. "Do you have some time to spend together tonight?"
"Yeah," said Beca. "I'd like that."
"Why don't I just bring over some Chinese food? We can watch Netflix, or…"
"Sounds good. Now let's head to campus. I have some stuff I need to turn in before the break."
"Me too."
Chloe
Chloe arrived on campus for her classes with a spring in her step and a much lighter heart. A huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she'd reconciled with Beca. She hadn't realized just how much pain she'd been in until it was gone.
She muddled through her classes, her mind wandering to the evening's plans to spend time with Beca for the first time in nearly a week. They'd rarely gone a day without seeing each other since Bellas' practice had begun. Between that, being neighbors, and then being girlfriends, Beca had been a constant in her life this school year. She'd been so lonely since their fight.
As soon as her last class was over, she headed back to her apartment, taking some extra time to trim her nails and shave her legs. She'd slacked a bit on maintenance in the past week, and now she wanted to make extra sure she looked nice for Beca.
She texted Beca around 5:30 to make sure the time worked for her and to get her order, and she was at Beca's with Chinese food an hour later.
"Hey, Chloe," said Beca, giving her a kiss. "Why are you wearing a dress?"
"I wanted to look extra nice. It feels like it's been forever."
"I'm not complaining. It's cute."
"Good," said Chloe, taking her shoes off, and leaving them at the door. She put the bag of food on Beca's table and put a six-pack of beer in the refrigerator, grabbing one for each of them.
"Thanks," said Beca. "Just please take whatever's left with you when you leave."
"Sure, but why?"
"Oh, right, I didn't tell you. My mom is going to fly here and stay with me during Spring Break. I'm sure she's not naive enough to think I don't ever drink alcohol, but I'm not going to have it in the fridge either."
"That's great, Beca. I'm sure you miss her."
"I do," said Beca. "I need to pick your brain on something, though."
"Okay."
"Jesse's mad at me. Like, really mad. He acts as though I don't exist, now. He'd barely been talking to me after regionals, but he hasn't even looked at me since the semi-finals. I tried apologizing, but, for all I know, he could have blocked my number."
"I really don't know," said Chloe. "Have you talked to Benji?"
"A little. I don't want to throw him into the middle of this, though."
"Right. I don't know right now, but I'll think about it."
Beca nodded and the two of them ate their food, Chloe stealing bites of Beca's food, and Beca pretending to be mad.
"Maybe next time we should just split our orders," said Beca.
"But swiping the food from you is half the fun!"
Beca rolled her eyes and shook her head. "You're so weird."
Once they'd finished their food and put away their dishes, Chloe walked behind Beca and snaked her arms around her waist. "What should we do now?" she asked, already starting to kiss Beca's neck.
"I have a feeling you already have something in mind."
"I've missed you, Beca. A lot."
"Oh, have you?" asked Beca. Chloe could hear the smirk she knew was on Beca's face.
She spun Beca around so they were facing each other. "A whole lot."
Chloe's lips were on Beca's before she could respond verbally. Beca immediately kissed back, sliding her tongue into Chloe's mouth. Chloe reached her arms around Beca, squeezing her ass. The moan Beca let out told Chloe that Beca had missed this just as much as she had.
Chloe soon found herself being backed into Beca's living room. Beca turned them around and sat on the couch, pulling Chloe down into her lap. She soon felt Beca's hands reach under her dress. Chloe's hips had already begun to buck as she felt Beca's fingers going up her inner thigh. She soon felt her underwear being pulled to the side.
"Damn," said Beca. "You're so wet."
"Beca…" Chloe could only whine her girlfriend's name in response.
"These need to go," said Beca, pulling at Chloe's underwear.
Chloe stood up, yanked them down and kicked them off. She sat back down on Beca's lap, gasping as Beca ran her fingers through her folds again. She began to rub circles into her clit, and Chloe came in record time.
"You don't need to look so smug," said Chloe.
"I think that's the fastest I've gotten you to come," she said.
"I haven't come in a week!"
"Same for me," said Beca.
"Sounds like I'll have to fix that," said Chloe. She stood up, took Beca's hand, and headed to the bedroom, both of them removing each other's clothing as they headed down the hall.
"That's quite the trail of clothing," said Beca.
"Sign of a good time." She threw back the covers and lay Beca down. She massaged Beca's breast and took one in her mouth while moving her other hand down to Beca's clit. She had Beca screaming her name, both hands tangled in her hair in record time.
"So, who won?" asked Chloe.
"Let's call it a tie," said Beca.
They spent the evening intertwined, screaming each other's names, fists in sheets. As the night went on, things slowed down, focusing more on connecting with each other than simply getting off. Chloe glanced at the clock on Beca's nightstand once they'd stopped.
"Damn," said Chloe.
"Hmm?"
"Looks like we've been having sex for a good two hours."
"Nice," said Beca. "I don't know about you, but I think I needed that."
"Me too," said Chloe, pulling Beca closer to her. "I love you so much."
"I love you too."
The two of them drifted off to sleep, Chloe feeling far more relaxed than she had since the debacle that was the semi-finals.
Beca
Beca woke up to Chloe's cell phone alarm and a kiss on her bare shoulder from the woman spooning her. It was the most rested she'd felt in a week.
"What time does your flight leave?" she asked.
"Two," said Chloe.
"Want to go out to breakfast?" asked Beca. "All I have here are pop-tarts. And I think I have some cereal, but it might be stale."
"Breakfast out sounds great."
"Are you packed?"
"Yeah," said Chloe. "I figure I'll be spending most of the week recovering from my surgery, so I mostly packed pajamas."
"Will you have to stay in the hospital overnight?"
"Not unless there are complications."
"Good," said Beca.
The two of them got into the shower, and Beca was the first to sing this time.
Honey honey
I can see the stars all the way from here
Can't you see the glow on the windowpane
I can feel the sun whenever you're near
Every time you touch me I just melt away
Chloe joined in immediately.
Now everybody ask me why I'm smiling out from ear to ear
(They say love hurts)
But I know (it's gonna take the real work)
Nothing's perfect but it's worth it
After fighting through my tears and finally you put me first
Baby, it's you
You're the one I love
You're the one I need
You're the only one I see
Come on, baby, it's you
You're the one that gives your all
You're the one I can always call
When I need to make everything stop
Finally, you put my love on top
Ooh come on, baby
You put my love on top top top top top
You put my love on top
Ooh ooh
Come on, baby
You put my love on top top top top top
You put my love on top
My love on top
Beca began the next verse.
Baby I can feel the wind whipping past my face
As we dance the night away
Chloe took over, slightly changing the lyrics.
Girl, your lips taste like a night of champagne
As I kiss you again and again and again and again
They continued the song, Beca being backed against the shower wall just as it ended. Chloe's lips were on hers before she could even ask what was going on.
When they finally came up for air, Chloe whispered, "That's another one of my lady jams."
Chloe was on her knees, putting Beca's right leg over her shoulder before Beca could even respond. She moaned the instant that Chloe's tongue touched her clit. Chloe worked fast and Beca came quickly, a stream of curses flowing out of her mouth.
She smiled when Chloe stood back up to kiss her. "It's your lady jam, but I'm the one who just came? Interesting."
"You could fix that," said Chloe, winking.
She didn't have to tell Beca twice. She turned them so that Chloe was back against the shower wall this time. She kissed her hard and put her hand between Chloe's legs. She slid her fingers inside with ease as she felt Chloe spread her legs. She pumped her fingers while Chloe moaned the words "harder" and "faster" mixed with Beca's name before her body went rigid as she came.
"Remind me to sing that one again later," Beca said as she gently took her fingers out of her girlfriend.
"Definitely," said Chloe as she kissed Beca again.
"Okay, we really need to get clean or we won't have time for breakfast."
"I thought that was breakfast," said Chloe.
Beca rolled her eyes before laughing at the inappropriate comment. "It's like talking to some of my friends in high school all over again. Well, except none of those jokes were from someone as hot as you."
"And hopefully nobody who was sharing your shower."
Beca shook her head and passed Chloe a washcloth.
As they were getting dressed, Beca asked, "Do you want me to make you some hot tea?"
"No, I'm okay," said Chloe, gently touching her neck. "I can't wait to get rid of these nodes, though."
"Will you still be able to sing?"
"I think so, or, at least, I hope so. I know the doctor said something about vocal therapy, so I guess I'm going to do that."
"You should. I know how much you love to sing, and I'd hate for you to get nodes again."
They headed to breakfast, and they had a nice, long conversation over the meal. Beca opened up about her childhood.
"I'm not sure my parents did their best handling the divorce. I told you I don't remember them being happy. They fought all of the time, and then my dad traveled for work a lot. I remember hearing Sheila's name a lot, and my mom yelling about lipstick and perfume. I was too young to understand that my mom had essentially caught my dad red-handed. It wasn't much after the business trips happened that they separated. He initially had an apartment near our house, but it wasn't long before he moved across the country."
"You were eight?"
"I was seven when they separated. The divorce was final shortly after I turned eight. I think he was across the country by then, but that was a long time ago. Sheila tried to be the 'fun stepmom' but I wasn't having it."
"What did she do?"
"She bought me Barbie dolls, and My Little Pony stuff, not realizing that I didn't like either of those things. I was way more into Legos."
Chloe laughed.
Beca continued. "I didn't spend a lot of time here in Atlanta, though. I had either Thanksgiving or Christmas here, depending on the year, plus a week in the summer. My dad would come up to Seattle and visit sometimes, but it didn't happen all that much. I actually spend a fair amount of time in New York, though. My Gram - Dad's mom - lives there, and I visited her a lot. I even - I...went there a lot, even with my mom after the divorce. Gram really likes my mom and I think a part of her is pissed about the affair."
Beca couldn't believe she'd nearly slipped and told Chloe she'd lived with her Gram for her entire seventh-grade year. She didn't know how to talk about her brief stint on Broadway without seeming like she was bragging.
"That's cool," said Chloe. "I wish we'd been able to go to the finals. I didn't get to see New York last year. The day the Bellas were touring the city, I stayed in the hotel room with Aubrey. She was so upset."
"Maybe we can go visit my Gram sometime," said Beca.
"I'd like that."
"Tell me more about life with four older brothers."
"Well, the oldest one - Dave - was in his senior year of high school when I was in kindergarten. So, he was off to college when I was in first grade. I hardly remember living with him. I do know that sometimes he picked me up from school and the other kids thought he was so cool. I was the only kid with an older sibling with a car and a driver's license."
"That's insane."
"I don't think I realized my family was all that different until probably my kindergarten year. My parents had us all spaced about three years apart, so, the year I was in kindergarten, my brothers were in third, sixth, ninth, and twelfth grades."
"So, who's who again?" asked Beca.
Chloe pulled out a picture on her phone. "We took this on Christmas at my mom's," she said. She showed Beca a picture of herself with four men - everyone in a different "ugly Christmas sweater". Not only was Chloe the shortest, but she was also the only redhead. They all had the same blue eyes and smile, though.
"Okay, we actually stood in birth order this time. Dave is all the way to the left," she said, pointing to one of the blonde men. "Next to Dave is Danny, and then Steven. Chris is next to me." Danny was blonde like Dave, while Steven and Chris both had dark brown hair. They all had at least six inches of height on their sister, from what Beca could tell.
"That's quite a group. I can't believe you're the only redhead."
"My dad has red hair," said Chloe. She flipped through her phone and showed Beca a picture.
"Wow, no mix-up at the hospital."
"Yeah," said Chloe. "Anyway, I definitely got away with a lot as the youngest and only girl. I didn't have hand-me-downs, for the most part. I got all the girly toys my family could buy, and, as I told you before, I practically had four bodyguards by the time I was old enough to date."
"Wow," said Beca.
"It's probably why my parents put me in dance when I was little. I even competed for a few years before deciding it wasn't for me. I liked to dance, but the competition circuit can be a pain in the ass."
"Which is why you can twist my hair up like that so quickly."
"Well, yes, I suppose. But, I really have always been good with hair. I used to help the younger kids back when I was in high school. I have no earthly idea why my teacher let five-year-olds on the dance competition team, but I guess it was because their parents would pay the money."
"When did you compete?"
"I was ten for my first competition. I think it's a good age. I was young enough to not be ridiculously nervous but old enough to appreciate the opportunity."
"Tell me there are videos of this," said Beca.
"My mom has some videos of the recitals. Most of the competitions charged a pretty penny for a copy of the video, so we never bought them. I did the same dances, though, in the recital."
"I bet you were adorable."
Chloe shrugged. "So, what about you? What haven't you told me?"
Beca felt her stomach do flips. Did Chloe know about her time in High Society? Beca decided she wasn't up for discussing that.
"I don't know," said Beca. "My parents tried a lot of different activities with me when I was younger. Not dance, though. They tried sports, but I'm so not athletic. They tried karate, but I was the only girl and so much smaller than the other kids. My mom took a look at the kids my age and told my dad she wasn't letting them kick my ass. They wanted me to take piano lessons, but I think their divorce lawyers took the money they probably would have spent on those."
"Ouch."
"I had one lesson, and I liked it, but I didn't even touch a piano again until high school. It was an elective my senior year."
"Can you play it?"
"Not really. I know some basics - like which key is which and how to read music. But I never got the hang of two-handed playing or anything."
"So, what did you do in high school?"
"I was in choir, and-"
"You told Aubrey and me you didn't sing," said Chloe.
"We've long since established that was a lie. I was just...I don't really even know why I said that."
"Okay, so, choir, and…?"
"I was part of the stage crew in high school. For one show. I realized the group didn't do much except smoke pot and make perverted jokes. Pot wasn't for me, and even I can only handle so much inappropriate humor."
"So, they didn't do any stage stuff?"
"We did, but not really until tech week for the show. The 'meetings' were an excuse to smoke pot and make perverted jokes. And sometimes drink, although that didn't happen more than maybe twice. We had a meeting at the supervising teacher's house and he gave it to us."
Chloe's eyes widened.
"I'm sure I don't need to tell you the rebellious teacher was my favorite."
Chloe laughed. They spent the rest of the breakfast enjoying each other's company, and Beca went ahead and gave her a ride to the airport, insisting that the parking was way too expensive. Once they'd parted ways, Beca headed back to her place, cleaned it, and bought groceries. She didn't want her mother worrying too much about how she'd been doing on her own.