Chapter One
Hey guys, so I'm trying out a multi-chapter fanfic again. I'm a little rusty with fanfics but I've been knocking around this idea for a while, and I think this can work. MAJOR trigger warning for eating disorders and general body hatred and things of that nature. Also, I swear like a sailor so this will likely be full of swearing. Please feel free to leave reviews, I really appreciate them and, yeah, enjoy!
Chloe stepped back off the scale, a scowl on her face. Maybe if her face disapproved enough the numbers would change. This was ridiculous. Two months, two months and she was nowhere close to her goal weight. She didn't understand; she had done everything that was recommended online and, yeah, she had lost some weight, but she was still a fat cow. A fat cow who was going to lose everything in a few months; her singing, her girlfriend, her carefree young adult lifestyle.
But she was going to be damned if she was going to lose the progress she had made so far on her disgusting body. It was a start; it was a start and that was something. Chloe Beale had a goal, and she was going to reach it.
Or she was going to die trying.
"Chloe! We are going to be late if you don't hurry your ass up!" Aubrey called up the steps of the Bella house.
"May I mention again how happy I am that you are staying for the weekend?" Chloe called back sarcastically as she fumbled around the closet looking for a shirt that didn't suck. "And anyway, why are you so anxious to get to a Treble party?"
"I'm not!" Aubrey yelled. "But if you all are insisting on us going to a party with those Neanderthals and they are going to supply us free booze well we might as well be on time."
"You just want to party with your girlfriend when you've both had jiggle juice." Beca teased, walking past her with a box of pizza.
"I…I…" Aubrey sputtered.
"Want some pizza?" Beca asked innocently. "Or maybe some fruit? Maybe some Staubrey's?"
"Ooh, 3/10 on that pun, Shawshank. Did not sound close enough to strawberry." Fat Amy clicked her tongue and grabbed a slice of pizza.
"Leave me alone, I'm hungry." Beca said, shutting the box and continuing up the stairs. "Hey Chloe, you hungry?"
"Did you get my side salad?" Chloe asked, continuing to fumble in the labyrinth that was her closet.
"Ah, fuck." Beca muttered, setting the pizza down. "I knew I forgot something. I am the worst girlfriend, I'm sorry."
"Oh." Beca might have imagined it but she could have sworn Chloe had a panicked look on her face for a second. "Well…that's okay…I'm kinda not feeling pizza…"
"Ugh, you're never feeling food anymore. I feel like such a fatass around you." Beca teased, trying to hide the concern in her voice.
Beca was sad to admit, but she hadn't noticed the change in Chloe at first. Chloe had said she wanted to lose a little weight for swimsuit season, so she had started eating more salads and going to the gym, but there was nothing wrong with that, right? At least half the Bellas were on diets in the house. But in the past two weeks she had started to notice a little more. There was significantly less of Chloe to hold when they cuddled. Chloe had complained about having no time to study but was going to the gym almost daily for hours. She was mysteriously always busy for the Bella dinners. There was something going on.
And Beca felt like a fucking idiot for not noticing it sooner.
"I mean, there's going to be a ton of food at the party." Chloe said cheerfully.
"No, no, no babe. You need food before you drink. I've seen you drink on an empty stomach, it's not pretty." Beca insisted.
Chloe turned and looked at Beca. "I mean…um…okay. Do you have a plate?"
"Oh, yeah, sure. I left them downstairs. Hang on."
"And a knife and fork?"
"You're going to eat pizza with a knife and fork?" Beca asked.
"It…I don't want to get all messy, I just did my make up." Chloe explained.
"Oh!" Beca nodded. That was reasonable, right? "I'll be right back."
Beca ran downstairs and grabbed the utensils and plate and came back upstairs. Chloe had finally selected a tight purple top and a black leather jacket with jeans.
"Ooh, look at my hot girlfriend." Beca grinned, handing Chloe the plate and utensils.
"I felt like a bad girl tonight." Chloe winked.
"Lucky me." Beca sat down the pizza and walked toward her girlfriend. Chloe lowered herself a bit so her small girlfriend could reach her and started kissing her.
"C'mere." Chloe nodded toward her bed. Intoxicated with the redhead's beauty, Beca dumbly started to walk towards the bed until the sight of the pizza box snapped her back to reality.
"Wait, no." Beca stopped. "Chloe! Are you trying to seduce me to get out of eating the pizza?"
"What? Of course not." Chloe scoffed. "I can eat it now just give me a minute."
Beca watched as Chloe grabbed a slice of pizza out of the box. Chloe sat down on the bed and slowly started to pick off the pepperoni. Beca watched in fascination as Chloe began to cut up the pizza into several little pieces and move them around her plate.
"Um, Chloe?"
"Yes?" Chloe asked innocently.
Beca shook her head. As long as she was eating, she didn't care how she did it. "Nothing, I was going to ask for the box so I could have a piece."
"Oh, sure!" Chloe passed her the box.
"Hey, Chloe?"
"Hey, Beca?" Chloe teased, not looking up from her tiny pieces of pizza.
"I love you."
"Aw, I love you too, baby." Chloe smiled.
"HURRY YOUR ASSES ACA-BITCHES!" Aubrey screeched from below.
"Aubrey, I need to talk to you." Beca insisted almost immediately upon arriving at the Treble house.
"Now?" Aubrey whined. She was looking lovingly at her girlfriend Stacie who was at the beverage table.
"Yes." Beca insisted and dragged her through the house until she found an empty room.
"Woah, there's a lot of Star Wars stuff in here." Aubrey looked around.
"Yeah, I think this is Benji's room. Not important though. We have a problem."
"Oh God, did you give Chloe something? Is she herped?"
"Why is that your automatic thought?" Beca snapped. "But no, I did not give her anything. Aubrey, did Chloe look any different to you?"
Aubrey stood for a second, thinking. "I mean she looked a lot skinnier, but I heard she was just doing a diet."
"Yeah, I think the diet is called an eating disorder."
Aubrey paled. "No…no she said she was done with that."
"What?" Beca was shocked. "She's done this before?"
"Back in freshman year, things were really rough with the Bella's and Alice was really harsh on Chloe, all of us really, to keep in shape and…yeah. It got really bad. Did she not tell you about this?"
"Not at all." Beca was doing her best not to feel hurt. But she had been with Chloe for over two years. Why had this not come up?
"Goddamn it, Beca!" Aubrey hissed. "Can't you watch your girlfriend better?"
"Excuse me, 'watch my girlfriend better'?" Beca laughed. "Your girlfriend was doing Jell-O shots out of Bumper's belly button last weekend."
"Please, she doesn't like Bumper." Aubrey rolled her eyes. "We are secure in our relationship; I know what's serious and what's her just living her life."
"Damn, that's actually a pretty healthy relationship understanding. Beca said, impressed.
"Yeah, I had some unhealthy relationships in high school but ever since I started seeing a therapist, I've learned how to set boundaries and establish trust."
"That's really cool of you." Beca said.
"Thanks! If you want, I can give her your number."
"Huh, actually- oh shit! That is not what we are talking about, my girlfriend has a fucking eating disorder!" Beca snapped back to attention.
"Right. So. Um…" Aubrey shrugged.
"Well, what did you do last time?" Beca asked.
"We can't do that again."
"What did you do?" Beca insisted.
Aubrey sighed. "She actually ended up going to an eating disorder program for a month. But she can't do that. Not now. Her parents have said they are not going to pay for another year of college if she fails again this year. She needs to graduate."
"But…dude I've heard the statistics. Anorexia is like the deadliest mental illness." Beca groaned. "I can't…I can't lose her, Aubrey."
Aubrey thought for a moment. "Okay. Here is what we will do. We will confront her and tell her that she needs to go back to her therapist. At home, you will have to get her to start eating. I can't do much, I have to go back to work Monday. I can video and stuff but…Beca, a lot of this is going to be on you. Do you think you can handle it?"
"Probably not." Beca admitted. "But whatever it takes I guess."
Alright, now I did want to say, if you or a friend have an eating disorder, please seek PROFESSIONAL HELP. Do not handle it like Aubrey and Beca are, this is just for plot and because it's a mistake I made in my life. Please get help, you can get better. I'm providing a number to text if you are in the US and need help with an eating disorder, if you are outside the US just a quick Google should find a number or talk to your doctor. Don't have your friends alone take care of you with something this serious.
Text CONNECT to 741741 to reach a Crisis Counselor.