Long chapter! Glad to see all of the thoughtful reviews, just want everyone to know that this is probably going to be a pretty long fic- I'm going to estimate around 40 chapters. So- Chacie, Bechloe, just settle in for all the fun ;)

Regrets aren't something Chloe comes across easily. Particularly when it comes to people she's slept with, of her own free will, outside of porn. She's felt that regretting those kinds of things is counterproductive and, at worst, promotes a self-shame that was unhealthy and obsessive. Even if she does teeter close to something resembling regret, Chloe can usually spin it as a learning lesson for herself.

She doesn't regret sleeping with Stacie. Not really.

They'd both been inebriated, it had been fun, lighthearted, and frankly- just what the doctor ordered. It had been so, so long since she had done something like that.

When the morning had found her beneath her bedsheets- she'd been hungover. Dreadfully so. That much was to be expected. But as she was coming to, she became aware of her naked skin brushing up against someone else's naked skin; and it came back to her in bits and pieces. She'd carefully snuck a peek at Stacie from the corner of her eye- not wanting to gawk while the girl was still asleep, and all- and she'd let herself fill in any more of the gaps she was missing.

She was pleasantly surprised, to say the least, that it had all unravelled that way.

There is a worry, though, trumpeting at her from some far corner of her mind; Stacie is your friend. Should you really be sleeping with your friends?

She'd mulled that over- which was a feat, considering the pounding state of her mind- but, she drew the conclusion that she didn't think it was likely going to change anything at all. They'd slept together in porn before. While this was vastly different in some senses- at the end of the day, sex could just be sex. Chloe knew that well. She wagered that Stacie knew that well, too.

When she found the strength, she pushed herself out of bed at snail pace. She'd spent about a half an hour forcing herself to become a human being- guzzling a few glasses of water, hanging over the toilet preparing for a vomit that never came, working up the will to eat something- before Stacie similarly rose from the dead. She wandered out into Chloe's living room in the pyjamas she hadn't had a chance to wear the night before, rubbing the sleep from her eyes with one hand and cradling her head with the other.

The two of them locked eyes from where Chloe sat, half alive, on the couch, and something suspended in the air between them that made Chloe rethink her prior conclusion. It was long, and she worried that she saw that flash of regret in Stacie's eyes. And then- half a second later, she wondered if Stacie even remembered at all.

And then the girl grinned. "We got a little crazy last night, didn't we?"

But it was with that same, airy, lighthearted tone that she initially knew she could count on. It lifted the weight from wherever she had been harbouring it- her heart, her stomach, her shoulders- and she giggled. "It happens,"

The girl made another flirty remark, and joined her on the sofa after filling herself a tall glass of water as well. They picked out somewhere to call to deliver breakfast together, and settled in for a free afternoon of lounging and feeling sorry for themselves and their sickly state.

They'd just finished scarfing down their delivered breakfast when someone knocked on Chloe's door. Stacie turned to look at her, brows knitted together in a silent question, and she shrugged in return as she gathered the strength to head over to the door. Peeping through the eyehole, she saw Gail on the other end. How strange, Chloe thought, usually she would call, or text.

"Hey," She greeted the older woman as she unlocked the door, "Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine," The woman seemed thrown by her question, entering the apartment and disengaging Donatella from her leash.

Chloe still felt her mind buffering. "Are we supposed to have a meeting today?"

Gail tittered, throwing a look over her shoulder as she went, anc Chloe shut and locked the door behind her, bending to give the dog a small pat. "You seem jumpy. No, I was in the neighborhood-" She paused in her tracks, narrowing her eyes at the younger girl.

Feeling suddenly very scrutinized, Chloe straightened the front of her pyjamas. "I know, I look a mess,"

"Well, today's the kind of day I would certainly expect," She breezed onwards, and Chloe trailed behind her as she made her way into the kitchen, setting her purse down on the island. "Letting loose was certainly bound to happen last night, I had a few more than I should have, myself,"

Stacie, upon either seeing Donatella patter into the living room or hearing Gail's voice, made her presence known as she came around the dividing wall to greet them. Gail seemed a tad surprised to see her, which Chloe thought was interesting, given they'd been carpooling and all. "Oh," She'd said after the brunette had said her hello and headed towards the fridge to refill her glass of water, "You're still here,"

"Not really in the state of mind to be in a car yet," Stacie stretched, reaching high towards the ceiling and arching her back. The material of her sleep-shirt lifted just a tad, exposing her taut lower stomach- and the hickey that Chloe doesn't remember placing there. A thread of ice slipped into her body, and it was all in Chloe's power to keep from blushing- especially because Gail, ever astute, noticed it without a doubt. "Afraid of motion sickness, you know?"

The woman turned on Chloe so fast that even Stacie appeared to get whiplash- over Gail's shoulder she saw green eyes go wide with confusion and her face drop- and as she was met with that fiery gaze, Chloe struggled to maintain her innocence. She wasn't really sure how she was supposed to act in this situation. "You two- you two-?" She raised her eyebrows, gesturing between the two of them, and then knitting her brows together. "-Is there someone else here? Or did you two get up to something last night?"

By the way Gail was insinuating it, it was strictly forbidden for them to have had sex. Chloe wasn't really sure what to do in this situation- was she to play dumb, or fess up? "I- you mean-?"

An exasperated sigh left the woman's mouth and she gestured to Chloe vaguely, "You both have hickeys, Chloe,"

"What?" She couldn't help it- she clasped both hands to the sides of her neck; she had no idea where the blemish was, she hadn't noticed one in the mirror this morning, her hair must've been covering it before. Her eyes found Stacie, who grinned sheepishly and pointed to her own neck in what she assumed was the location of the hickey. With a groan, Chloe tilted her head back. "Yes, fine, okay- we hooked up last night, we both had a bit to drink-"

"-More than a bit-" Stacie supplied.

"-Yeah, more than a bit to drink,"

Gail lifted a finger to silence her. It was evident that she was concocting something in her mind, but after a few silent moments of mulling things over, she looked up at Chloe. "Can we speak in private, Chloe?" She asked, eyes glinting as she pointed towards the bedroom. Feeling like she had no more use of the English language, she simply nodded, and lead Gail towards the bedroom.

One look at the unmade bed and the woman groaned. Instead, she opted to open the blinds and sit on the windowsill. Chloe sat down on the closest part of the mattress to her, suddenly feeling like she was sitting in her own filth. "Are you mad at me? Are we not supposed to do that?"

"Mad?" She repeated in disbelief. "Goodness, no, Chloe- I'm concerned."

"Concerned?" It was her turn to repeat.

"Well, first of all," Gail unfastened the top-most button on her jacket. "Covering up that hickey on Stacie's midsection is going to be a pain for her shoot on Tuesday- though, I suppose it will fade some before then. But, secondly," The woman threw her hands up in the air, shaking her head. "It's just unlike you."

She almost felt offended. The evening had felt the most like herself in a long time. "What? How is it unlike me?"

"You haven't been impulsive like that for a long time," Chloe opened her mouth to respond but Gail didn't give her the chance. "And what with all this stuff with Beca,"

"What about Beca?" Now she really wasn't sure where the woman was going with this.

"I'm just at a loss with what you want."

Personally, she didn't really think it was all that hard to understand. "I want to make music with Beca and I want to sleep with people when I want to sleep with them." She stated, trying to have courage of her convictions.

"That's all this was?" The woman pointed at Chloe and then at the imaginary Stacie, who was somewhere behind the closed door. "You girls just had a bit to drink, ended up fooling around?"

Chloe rolled her eyes. "Yeah, Gail, we are pornstars, after all- we fuck. It's kind of what we do," She wasn't sure why she sounded- and felt, for that matter- so bitter. She supposed she just didn't want to have to explain herself for a human urge. "I don't know what you're so worried about, Stacie can keep a cool head on her, we get along-"

"It's my job to look after your best interests, too, Chloe," The woman interjected, her voice soft, but firm. "I'm supposed to keep tabs on your behaviour."

"Well, I'm fine."

The quiet began to creep between them, and with every second, she felt a little bit more remorseful about sounding like a petulant toddler. Eventually, Gail sighed, and scratched the bridge of her nose before continuing onwards, completely divulging the topic. "I just wanted to let you know that I secured everything Beca needs for that music video of hers. I need you to reach out to her and make sure she's free next Friday."

Her heart twanged a little bit, then. "Okay." She said softly. "Thank you, Gail,"

"I'll just send you an email with the details," She began to gather herself to rise, again, clearly wanting to get out of the talons that Chloe seemed to be sinking into her for simply expressing her concern. She nodded, following suit and rising to her feet. As Gail was a few steps in front of her she paused, turning halfway to face her. "Oh, and don't try too hard to cover that up if you go out anywhere," She gestures to Chloe's neck. "We could use that."

Sighing, she followed Gail out of her bedroom.

She kept the details of her conversation to herself, though Stacie had asked her what it was about. But she didn't pry, thankfully, when Chloe said it was nothing. They spent a few more hours together in relative silence in front of the television before Stacie felt fit enough to call her driver and go home. Part of Chloe was glad to have the alone time, part of her missed the company.

True to her word, Gail emailed her the finer details- such as the pricing- and Chloe reached out to Beca with all that she knew. Beca had gotten back to her quicker than usual expressing her excitement and her willingness to make Friday work. It was something that cheered Chloe's mood exponentially, for a little while, and they talked longer about what Chloe should wear, and a few more of the girl's artistic visions. She and Stacie kept in contact, too, of course; and Chloe was also grateful that the situation hadn't impeded on their friendship at all.

So, Chloe went about, doing her usual things until Friday. Attending spin class, and the gym. She even received an email about sponsoring some kind of new, vegan lubricant. She was pretty sure all lubes were vegan but she said nothing and happily smiled for the camera.

She apologized to Gail, also, on Thursday, because the guilt about the way she had treated her began to eat at her. She didn't want to push anyone else away. Her porn career had already pushed away more than enough people.

She was up early on Friday morning; four-thirty AM early. Because at five-thirty, she, Gail, and Bumper were driving to northern California to an empty plot of land to shoot the music video. When the silence began to creep in around the two hour mark of their drive, Chloe had begun obsessing about everything in the last week. It was driving her mental.

"How much longer?" She asked, at the three hour mark.

Gail checked the time. "I'd buckle in for at least another three hours. If we're lucky with traffic, maybe a little bit less."

Pouting, Chloe sat back, pulling out her phone and opening her text conversation with Beca. They should, obviously, be on their way as well. And Luke was usually the one driving.

This car ride. Kill me.

She watched the blip arrive through the text thread, praying that Beca was currently just as bored as she was and waiting by her phone for something exciting to happen. Someone in the clouds must've been listening, because within a few seconds, she saw the text bubble appear in response, and then it delivered shortly thereafter.

Oooo, sorry. No can do. I need you alive and well by the time we arrive- otherwise being stuck in this car would totally be a waste of a day I could've spent making music.

She grinned. Beca was so dedicated- but, the girl definitely sounded like she needed a vacation. She thoroughly believed if the girl could hole up all day, every day, she would.

The rest of the trip went faster, as she and Beca sporadically texted back and forth for a while. They stopped at one point to stretch their legs and use the washrooms in a small diner at the side of the highway, Gail ordering a coffee for the road before they set off again. But, when they finally arrived at their location, Chloe was ecstatic. They were the second vehicle to make it there; her hair and makeup team being those who arrived first, which was perfect, in Gail's eyes.

"You can walk around for five minutes, Chloe," The woman ordered, checking the time on her phone. "But, I'm sorry, I'm going to need you to sit down in a chair again,"

Chloe groaned, but didn't argue. She helped the team setup their wind-guard for Chloe to sit behind, and the chair she was going to be plopped into. Just as she was getting settled, Beca arrived.

"Perfect!" She heard Gail crow, and Chloe craned her neck to see anything but they had arrived somewhere on the other side of the wind guard, and one of the team had already begun brushing her hair. She heard the three of them chattering and then their approaching footsteps, and Chloe beamed upon seeing Beca's face next to Luke and Gail. It felt like it'd been ages.

Beca grinned, too; in a chipper sort of spirit, it seemed. She could barely contain her own excitement. She tried to make some kind of face of pain, but failed. "Ooh, sitting down again already? Is the pampering as nice today?"

Chloe shrugged. "Not ideal after a long car ride, but, it's one of the things I do best. Well, that and laying on my back, of course,"

The joke landed her three different reactions from everyone standing across from her; Luke burst into laughter, Gail appeared only slightly unimpressed, and Beca seemed like she hadn't been expecting it- shock played across her features, but after a moment, her mouth pulled into that little smirk she did so well.

"I mean," She said, "You get paid more than anyone else I know to lay on your back, so,"

"Is there a specific look you're imagining?" One of her stylist's interrupted, propping open her extensive makeup kit. "Or do you want us to just make the decision?"

"Oh," Chloe gestured to Beca. "Ask her, she's the boss here,"

Beca, very against being put on the spot, and very minimal in her knowledge of makeup looks- and how to describe them even if she did have a vision, which Chloe doubted- opened and closed her mouth a few times. "Uh, no, not really, just make her look nice, I guess," Chloe lifted an eyebrow at her. "I mean- she always looks nice, but, you know- uh,"

"Got it, boss," The stylist saved her from her stammering, smiling a bit. "I think we can give her the proper look for this,"

Luke asked Gail something about the shooting, and the two of them walked away from the wind guard, just as her team excused themselves for a moment to decide on what the look for this event should be, leaving the two of them rather alone across from each other.

"So, stranger," Since she didn't count on Beca to continue breaking the ice, Chloe figured she would. "What have you been up to this last little bit? I feel like I haven't seen you in a while,"

"It's been a minute," Beca agreed, rocking her weight back and forth between her legs. Chloe guessed she didn't really want to sit down again yet. "Working on more music, as usual. Um, getting things together for the EP release. I've also been shopping for my very own Gail," She admitted, tucking a strand of dark brown hair behind her ear.

"Oh?" She quirked her head to the side, trying to read Beca's body language about this. She was relatively closed-off, with her arms crossed over her chest. That wasn't something necessarily new, though.

"Yeah," The smaller girl sighed. "I've had exec's calling my phone like crazy, I don't even know how they got my number. It's all been getting a little crazy, so I could use some help from someone who actually knows how to deal with all of this," Chloe nodded her understanding, she couldn't imagine how difficult it must be for someone in the music industry to navigate it on their own, especially following such a huge success. "But, the thing is- I don't know- you hear so many horror stories about people getting fucked over by their agents, that it's hard to trust anyone,"

Chloe could also understand that. Agents in her field were few and far apart, and even then, it was incredibly rare to find someone without solely their own self-interests in mind. For a moment, an echo of a memory rang in her head of Gail stating that Beca would need to get some guidance if she was ever going to survive this career. Thinking of this, as it always does, made Chloe feel very grateful for Gail- as irritating as she can be. "I get that. But, I'm sure you'll find someone you click with, and you just know is right for you,"

Beca hummed. "Thanks. Oh-" At this, her eyes lit up, a smile plastering itself on her face again. "I also went back to that club- that one that you and I went to?"

She found this hard to believe, and for a moment, her heart even gave a small pang when she thought about how Beca didn't even invite her. She chastised herself immediately, however, as it was not anywhere near her right to expect this. She was just beginning to explore this life on her own, come out of her shell. It was actually an incredible feat, when she thought about it. "How was that?"

"Great! DJ Khaled was there,"

"Oh! Did you speak with him?"

She nodded fervently. "I did, actually, yeah. It was so cool."

Chloe could remember her first real interaction with a celebrity. Unfortunately for her, most people didn't take her that seriously if they knew who she was- but, she could remember the same excitement that Beca was expressing now. "What was he like?"

"He was…" She faltered a bit at this, and shrugged. "Kind of exactly what I expected he would be like. He spoke weird."

Her team of stylist's seemed to have come to some sort of conclusion about what the look of the day ought to be, because they returned full-force. They wasted no time in beginning to apply product to her hair and face, all the while she and Beca continued to catch up- well, Chloe wasn't the best conversationalist, trying to keep her face relatively still for her artist's, but they did what they could. It wasn't long before the stunt driver and cameraman arrived, as well.

Chloe was more than a bit surprised that Beca was able to take over direction with a certain amount of ease. She and the cameraman spoke about what they thought would look good, spitballed ideas, and before Chloe knew it, she was dolled up and sitting in the passenger seat alongside the stunt driver named Jay. It worried her, a little bit, that she needed to sign a waiver, but Jay did very well in reassuring her that he was an expert at his craft; even ripping doughnuts along the dry, northern California sand and practicing what would be the stunts involved in the music video. The cameraman had his own stunt driver, as well, to hoist the dolley and drive alongside the car as they went.

They taught her the proper way to stabilize herself, and then, they spent a large portion of the afternoon filming Chloe standing through the sunroof while the Camaro did doughnuts in the sun, or draped outside of the window. Of course, she was periodically touched up thanks to the wind and the dust, and they stopped for a large lunch, but other than that, the filming was easy. It flew by, and the adrenaline had her heart pumping.

The sun was beginning to set as they gathered around the cameraman and all took turns watching the takes, pointing out which ones they thought were exceptional. Beca and the crew were going to film more scenes tomorrow, Chloe found out, so they were staying at a hotel nearby for the evening- but, it was unanimously agreed- her work here was done.

"This looks so sweet," Beca breathed, as they played back yet another tape. She met Chloe's eyes from the other side of the cameraman, and shook her head. "Thank you so much for agreeing to this, it's perfect."

The compliment warmed her insides, a little bit, turning something in her stomach into goo. "Thank you for wanting me to be a part of this," And she meant it- this was an incredible experience. Before now, she'd been asked to be part of one other music video before, but Gail had ultimately declined the offer.

"I couldn't imagine anyone else,"

The way Beca says it is offhanded, earnest. That warm and gooey feeling spread upwards around her heart.

Truth be told, though, she was exhausted. And they still had another long drive ahead of them.

"Well," Gail chimed in, as though reading Chloe's thoughts. "If we're good to go, we better hit the road,"

"I'd say so," Said the cameraman. "Unless there's anything else we want before we go?"

Beca seemed to consider this for a moment, taking in their surroundings as the setting sun began to fade away into a soft twilight. "Can we get…" She started, bringing her index finger to her chin thoughtfully. "Can we get a shot of Chloe walking away?"

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked, looking around. There wasn't exactly many places to walk to.

Beca shrugged, gesturing to the void landscape, a bit towards the road. "Just- begin to walk down the road, maybe?"

"That could be interesting," Said the cameraman, already booting the equipment back up. "Like- hitchhiking, yeah?"

Beca crowed at the idea, eyes widening along with her smile. "Yeah, I like that," Thrilled to have more to do, Chloe headed towards the road, and everyone in the way cleared off. "Maybe like, look back a bit as you're walking,"

"Bumper could pull up-" Chloe offered, looking at the boy who had been chatting with Luke and Jay about cars for the last fifteen minutes. "If you want me to be hitchhiking- Bumper could pull up, and I could do a cheeky little," She tried her best to mimic the idea she had forming in her mind, opening the car door and looking back in a hurry as she got in. She wasn't sure she had sold it- but Beca seemed to be picking up what she was putting down.

"Good idea, Chloe!" She said, clapping her hands together like an excited child. "Yes, yes!"

Bumper- also seeming to be thrilled to have something to do- nearly sprinted to the vehicle and clambered in. They did the take a couple of times before there was one that the cameraman felt satisfied with.

"I can't wait to see it, Becs," Chloe said, pulling Beca in for a hug as they prepared to part ways. "Don't be a stranger, yeah? Let me know the next time you're going out- I'd love to join you," At this, she caught Gail's questioning eyes from over Beca's shoulders, but didn't allow herself to think much of it as they pulled apart.

As usual, when it came to Beca and physical contact, the girl seemed awfully bashful. "Yeah, will do. Thanks again,"

Feeling good about how they parted ways, Chloe climbed into the backseat of the car, hoping maybe she would catch some shut-eye on the way home.