A/N: Prompt from anon; hope you all like.
Disclaimer: I don't own the PP universe.
Chloe shuffles her papers, kicking her feet in frustration at the numbers swirling in her head. Her hand flies to her hair, the pencil tangling in its strands.
"You okay there, Chloe?"
She looks up, sees Stacie blink questioningly at her from the microwave, and gives a tentative smile. "Yeah, just..." she sighs. "Homework."
Stacie nods, retrieving her dinner burritos and closing the microwave door. "Do you need help?"
Chloe bites her lip and looks back down at the sheets of homework staring back at her from the kitchen table, its once clean blank lines now covered in blurry grey smudges. She doesn't want to be of any inconvenience. "Nah, I'll be okay. Thank you though, Stacie."
"Are you sure?" Stacie grabs for a napkin before making her way over, "Because if it's science, I can definitely help you out."
Chloe carefully detangles her pencil from her pounding head, laying it back down onto the wooden surface. It's not science, but something in Stacie's tone of voice has her intrigued. "Oh?"
Stacie pulls out a chair, sits. She sets her styrofoam plate down onto an area not littered by mountains of paperwork and reaches for the one directly in front of Chloe. "Yup. I double major in Chemistry and Biomedical engineering. Which pretty much covers all the sciences that you could possibly take in your second senior year."
Chloe raises her eyebrows, impressed. "Wow. I didn't know that you double major, Stace. That's amazing."
Her fellow Bella just shrugs, eyes quickly scanning the page. "Eh, it's alright. I love science anyways so it's no big deal." She then pauses, presumably figuring out that the subject of Chloe's dilemma is most definitely not the one of which she is an expert in. "Oh, this is math."
Chloe groans just at the mention of the word, tilting her head back to the fluorescent light of the kitchen ceiling. "Yeah, math. The worst form of torture in the entire world."
Stacie just chuckles, shaking her head, "Only to people who don't understand it." She then stands, clutching Chloe's topic of frustration between a thumb and forefinger. "I would love to help you out, Chloe, but I think someone else may be better at explaining this for you. She is a math genius after all."
Chloe gets out of her chair as well, brows furrowing curiously as she trails behind the tall brunette, only then realizing that they are making their way to the living room, where the sounds of the tv can be heard, signalling the presence of the rest of the Bellas. "Someone else? Who else could be better at math than a Biomedical engineer?"
"Someone who actually studies it."
And before Chloe could even ponder over which Bella would possibly want to subject themselves to the torture that is freaking mathematics, they have reached the entrance of the living room, and Stacie has called out the answer.
"Hey, Beca!"
What?
Chloe gapes, completely taken aback as she watches the unrequited love of her life look up from the screen of her phone at the mention of her name. "Yeah?"
Stacie waves the paper in her hand even as she continues to stalk forward. "Chloe needs your help with some math. I said that I would, but I just figured that a double math and physics major such as yourself would be a much better and viable option."
Understandably, Chloe is not the only one in the room to have no previous knowledge of this news, or the only one to be completely shocked by it. Fat Amy turns away from the tv to quirk a disbelieving brow. "Double major? Shawshank? Math and Physics?"
Chloe couldn't help but agree. She knows that it's wrong and impolite to underestimate a person's abilities on what he or she could or not do, especially when said abilities are in academics—after all, they are all still in college—but Beca? One of her best friends in the whole wide world, not to mention her secret crush/obsession/favorite person/love of her life and possibly all the lives she could possibly have hereafter—if she believes in that kind of stuff, which she kind of does, especially if it pertains to a possibility of her getting together with said love in one of those lives in the far future—with whom she had been pining for—especially at the times where it had been particularly difficult and tiresome—seemingly since the beginning of time? Beca, who would always tend to blow off school until the very last minute; Beca, who would rather spend time fiddling with her music in her room all by herself with just her and her headphones rather than indulge in books or people or anything not involving of her mixing board unless someone—usually Chloe—had to physically drag her away from the screen of her computer to go hang out? Beca?
Shouldn't she have known everything there is to know about Beca in all these years—albeit technically that only includes two, but sometimes she really just feels like they have known each other since they were kids—that they've been friends? Teammates? Roommates? Family?
Beca rolls her eyes, stretching her arms in front of her chest to pull her body into a proper sitting position on the side of the couch. She locks and tosses aside her phone. "Yeah, I couldn't decide which one to pick so I just decided to go for both. You guys didn't know?"
Chloe finally finds it within herself to blurt out something that does not include her incredulity of the small brunette being capable of taking the most ruthless and tedious majors that there could possibly be in all the majors one could take at Barden University, "No, Beca, we didn't."
Jessica, Ashley, Flo, and Cynthia Rose collectively shake their heads in agreement.
Lilly just blinks, and Fat Amy's lone brow stays exactly where it is.
Stacie snorts, Chloe's paper dangling casually between two perfectly manicured nails against her side as she crosses her arms, shifting her weight onto one foot, "Figures. I suppose you all didn't know that I am a double major too, did you?"
Six of the Bellas' attention spotlight on the slightly indignant brunette, gasps and shouts of surprise and amazement instantly tossed into the air, Stacie's explanation of the functionality of Biomedical Engineering immediately a follow up, but Chloe barely notices, because she is too busy having a silent exchange with her co-captain still situated on the couch.
She widens her eyes. Is this true? Are you being serious?
Beca nods, smirks. Hell yeah I am.
Chloe tilts her head, pouts. Why didn't you tell me?
Beca shrugs. Didn't find a reason to. She then rubs the back of her neck, looking suddenly sheepish and uncomfortable. And it's not like it's a big deal.
Chloe frowns, shakes her hands about. It is a big deal to me! She then gestures between the pair of them. We're friends, Becs, we are supposed to tell each other these kinds of things!
Beca tips her chin to the front of her chest, tucks a strand of hair behind her ear, and then peers at her shyly through her lashes. Sorry, Chlo.
Chloe's heart melts, her feet immediately carrying her forward, and she lowers herself onto the couch cushions next to Beca, taking extensive care to not sit on her phone. She offers a soft and forgiving smile, before pulling her best friend swiftly into a hug. Don't be sorry, Beca. She presses a kiss to her cheek. It's okay.
Beca's body relaxes, and somehow Chloe understands that the small brunette is relieved of the fact that Chloe is not mad or judgemental or flighty about how she is a double major in both math and physics. Chloe wonders if that is the reason why Beca hadn't told her—that she had been afraid of her reaction—and if that is the reason why she had put on a brave face in front of the Bellas.
Beca always pretends like everything is fine and ineffective to her well being when she feels extremely self-conscious. She likes to put on a hard shell and proclaim the attitude of a "badass" to balm over her real emotions, to put on a show of I don't care and whatever to mask over the I do care and I do feel.
Chloe gets the feeling that if it hadn't been for Stacie—who'd most likely just stumbled across the discovery by accident—none of them would have known, until possibly graduation, when someone questioningly points out the lettering of her certificate, the duality of her degree.
Beca is bashful, self-conscious, secretive, of her abilities and status as a mathematical genius.
Chloe puts her lips to Beca's ear. "Help me with my homework, please."
She feels her best friend shiver, pull away, her beautiful stormy blues shy and reluctant as they flit across Chloe's face, search between her eyes, and Chloe just sits and stays and waits until she says yes.
"Okay."
Chloe beams, her arms unconsciously going around to surround Beca's back for another embrace before she pulls away, and she stands up and makes her way over to Stacie, a bounce in her step as she taps the tall brunette—who's now making fun of herself for being the "hot one" of the group—on the shoulder to get her attention, smiling gratefully when she turns and notices and hands her paper over.
"Thanks, Stace," she says, winking to signal the double sentiment of her gratitude for both the help and the revelation of the information, grinning widely as Stacie comprehends and nods.
Hazel greens flash quickly and meaningfully to the slight brunette in the room, "Anytime."
Chloe lets her return to her conversation with the rest of the Bellas, spinning around to purse her lips questioningly to ask Beca where it is that she wants to go.
My room.
Chloe leads the way, making a brisk detour to the kitchen to gather up her things, and she speeds up the stairs and skips down the hall, letting herself into the double bedded bedroom Beca currently shares with Amy.
"So why'd you choose math?" She decides between the bed and the desk chair, going for the bed.
Beca takes the chair. "I dunno," she shrugs, "Just wanted to, I guess."
Chloe sets the papers down onto the bedding, and makes herself comfortable. "You must really enjoy it for it to be a half of your double major, Becs."
Beca gives a noncommittal hum, crossing her legs and wiping her hands onto the dark denim.
"And what about Physics? Any reason why you wanted to study that as well?"
"Oh," Beca glances to her mixing board, "That's just for sound engineering. It really makes it easier to find and test out the best places for a good mashup, and it's really just useful for the recording and production of music."
Chloe makes a small noise of understanding, following her line of sight briefly before going for the subject catalysing the shocking news of that evening. She picks up the first sheet of her homework, smoothing it out before offering it enthusiastically forwards, "So, math genius, you wanna let me know how it's done?"
Beca grins, one hand caught between her thighs modestly as the other one reaches for the paper, "Sure, Beale. Good to know that you're actually in need of my help for something."
Chloe pushes back her hair, blinking at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"
Beca hides her face behind the frustrating sheet of paper, "Nothing. Just that you always seem to know exactly what you're doing. Everybody always seems to go to you for help, never the other way around."
Chloe's heart flutters in her chest, and she has to push it down before it can go all swoony over the likely unintentional romantic admission. Later. "I don't always seem to know exactly what I'm doing, Beca. I usually just wing it, and hope for the best." At Beca's disbelieving but playful scoff, she leans forward to bend over the top half of her paper, revealing Beca's face, "And I'm here now, aren't I? Math has always been a subject that I can absolutely not deal with."
Beca rolls the tip of her tongue over the fronts of her teeth, "Only cuz nobody but nerds like me actually gets it. Still doesn't establish the fact that you're no less amazing and brilliant at everything else you do."
If Beca had been Chloe's girlfriend—if she had been dreaming that she is—Chloe would have lunged forward and kissed her senseless.
Settling for biting her lower lip anxiously to withhold the urge, Chloe gestures to the paper in her hands. "Well? Do you know how to do this?"
Beca looks like she's just been snapped out of a daze. "Oh yeah, totally." She spins around in her chair to reach for her bag, unzipping it and pulling out a tiny whiteboard from the utmost layer, as well as an Expo marker. "It's kinda easy, actually. I can explain it."
Chloe giggles at the materials in her hands as Beca turns back around. "Aw, that's so cute!"
Beca glares, laying the whiteboard on one side of her lap and the paper in the other. "Shut up. It's just convenient."
Chloe mimies zipping and locking her lips and throwing away the key, but the smile on her face is irreplaceable.
Beca nudges open the cap of the Expo, letting it drop softly onto the floor at her feet as she rereads the question. "So, it says that this Marco dude needs to figure out where his stupid ball is gonna land if he throws it over the top of a building, so we have to make a graph."
Chloe laughs, already comfortable with the familiar way Beca seems to make any situation less intimidating, "Do you talk to yourself like that when you do your own math?"
"Do you want my help or not?"
"Sorry, sorry," Chloe lays a hand over her mouth in an attempt to stifle her amusement. "Carry on."
Beca shakes her head, apparently having gotten very invested in her knowledge of math despite being self-conscious of it, "Jesus, Chlo. Anyways," she brings the tip of the marker onto the whiteboard to draw two perpendicular lines, "Here's the graph—" she draws a rectangle to represent the aforementioned building, along with a dot at the y-intercept, "—and here's our dude."
"Ooh, can we write down Marco," Chloe interrupts, bouncing in her seat and pointing to the blank and boring dot.
Beca gives her a look, before sarcastically heeding her request. Five letters were squished against the side of the y-axis with an adorable arrow, "There. Happy?"
Chloe blows her a kiss, "Very."
Beca sighs, dramatically, before continuing on, "So as I was saying, there's Marco, and his ball is—" she scribbles down a number next to the side, "Thrown from this height, and we need to figure out—" she dashes a parabolic line towards the situational ground, "Where this—" she makes another dot, labelling it "splat"—much to Chloe's delight— on the x-axis, "Is."
Chloe nods vigorously, chin in her hands as she shifts closer to the edge of the bed, her butt just barely situated on the mattress now as she leans closer for a better look, "Yeah, totes."
Beca doesn't seem to notice her new proximity, on a roll now that she has gotten started, "And they have given you the formula so now, considering the fact that gravity is a thing and negative distances are not—" she copies down the formula and writes down what the variables represent for her right under, "You just have to plug all this shit in to get the answer."
"Ohh," Chloe says, getting it, but it falls on deaf ears as Beca seems to automatically plug in the figures for her, crossing out variables and scribbling down altercations as she goes along, and Chloe's jaw drops, as seconds later, she has come to a conclusion.
Beca scribbles down "20 feet" and circles it victoriously, a small but satisfactory "Aha" escaping her lips as she holds the whiteboard up to the light. "There, I got it."
A sudden wave of heat pools low in her belly, and Chloe gasps as she tries to make sense of the unexpected spike of arousal at the sight of the wide and unrestrained and confident grin painting across Beca's lips, at the sight of the happiness and satisfaction sparkling within stormy blues, and at the sight of the pink and musically talented tongue clenched between Beca's teeth, as if used as an anchor to her excitement of getting another math problem right.
Holy heck, Beca Mitchell is hot when she does math.
Chloe must have made a distracting sound, because Beca suddenly jolts, as if just then realizing that she is not alone, pink flushing into her cheeks as she lowers the whiteboard, her uncontainable grin fading into a sheepish smile, and she meekly hands the answer over.
"Sorry," she says, fidgeting uncomfortably in her chair, eyes downcast to her feet as she watches them scuffle nervously against the floor, "I just got so excited. I don't know what came over me, Chlo, I—" she visibly swallows, "I hadn't meant to just finish your problem for you."
Screw it. It doesn't freaking matter that Beca is not her girlfriend.
Chloe pushes the whiteboard aside and grasps the arms of Beca's chair, yanking it and the person in it towards her waiting mouth, and she kisses her best friend/secret crush/obsession/favorite person/love of her life/mathematical genius square on the lips with as much fervor—if not more—as the moment previous in which she had desired to dole out when Beca had inadvertently complimented her as an amazing and capable and kind individual in and of itself, and she groans, her feet spreading to accommodate the chair between her legs and her brain kicking into overdrive to accommodate the gasp fluttering into her mouth.
Beca freezes, her eyes still presumably wide open as Chloe nips against her lips, and Chloe is just about to pull away and chart the situation up to another uncontrollable heat of the moment when she feels the small brunette reciprocate, arms wrapping around her neck and lips pressing closer, and Chloe slides her hands down from the arms of the chair to tuck between the cushion of the seat and Beca's thighs, lifting her up and into the air before prompting dumping her in her lap, and she giggles as Beca huffs at the ease of which she has completed the action.
"Show off," Beca grumbles, her minty breath a mournful absence as she pulls her mouth away to kiss the angle of Chloe's jaw, "This is exactly what I had meant."
Chloe tilts her head to allow Beca more access, "Coming from the person who had just figured out the answer to my mathematical problem in just a number of seconds, I think you are being irrational, Beca."
Beca laughs, her nose nuzzling into the side of her neck affectionately at the pun, and Chloe's heart pounds, her fingers immediately going to scramble her papers off the bed and her body further onto it. "That literally calculates up to zero creativity, Chlo."
"Whatever," she says, adjusting herself amongst the blue sheets and rectangular pillows, "I'm not a mathematical nerd, unlike someone I know."
"Mm," Beca reconnects their lips, her fingers playing the ends of Chloe's hair, "Speaking of, are we gonna finish your homework?"
"Later," Chloe tugs at their clothes, her tongue darting out to trace the seam of Beca's wide and unrestrained smile, "We can do it later. Right now I just want my hot and secretive mathematical genius to talk numbers to me."
A/N: I rushed through this in the span of four hours (not nearly long enough for me to make grammatical and detailing errors) so I hope you all enjoyed it despite my laziness :P
Also, if you're the anon who gave me this prompt, I hope I did you justice, and that I hope you liked it despite any intentions that you had initially had at the suggestion of this prompt (I know I did, but oh well, what's done is done, and I'm honestly just happy that I am finished lol).
Let me know what you all think! :))
