Chloe approached Beca's door. She lifted her hand to knock and noticed an official sign that had been posted. Please do not knock. Use the buzzer. Puzzled, she looked around at the other doors. No other rooms had anything on them like that. She shrugged and pushed the button, but didn't hear anything. Then she heard someone moving around before the door opened.

Beca appeared with a quizzical look on her face. "Chloe! What's up?"

Chloe smiled and bounced on her heels. "I'm supposed to kidnap you."

Beca lifted her eyebrows. "Is this something I need to get used to? Crimes against my person? Naked assault, kidnapping."

Nodding her head with a serious look, Chloe responded, "Absolutely." She broke the plane of the door with her head and looked around. "Can I come in?"

Beca nodded and held the door open. Chloe began scanning the entire room. Her eagerness reflected on her face. She was looking behind the curtain of Beca's life, which was thrilling. Chloe could not really explain the draw that she had to the freshman. Logically, well it was completely illogical. There was nothing specifically that should have led to this. Beca was very attractive, which Chloe noticed and appreciated. But Chloe wasn't hurting for physical interactions, if that was what she was after. Their initial conversations were awkward, with Beca throwing up force fields and spikes to keep a distance. It would have been easy to give up, label this as a lost cause. Chloe had many friends, and could always make more. That was just how she was built. She was naturally cheery, friendly, outgoing. She was gorgeous with a great body, and she wasn't shy about showing that off. People flew to her like metal shards to a magnet. But Chloe had also learned something about people over the years: the people who were the least willing to connect were often the ones most worth connecting with. Aubrey Posen was a prime example. The co-captain of the Bellas came across to people as unbending, cold-hearted, judgmental, never satisfied. That wasn't an incorrect assessment; she was all of those things. But the Aubrey that Chloe knew and loved was so much more than that. They had forged a tight relationship over the last three years at Barden. Things had not always been smooth, but Chloe believed that Aubrey was worth it. And when the tiny girl with what Aubrey called "ear monstrosities" walked by their booth at the start of school, Chloe knew that she had found another diamond in the rough. So she started squirming and wiggling her way past Beca's defenses. She already was beginning to realize the treasure within, and she couldn't wait to see more.

"You have a lot of equipment here." Chloe was clearly impressed with all of the expensive-looking items placed around the room - even if she didn't know what all of them did.

"Uh.. yeah." Beca rubbed the back of her neck and looked around as well. "I make mixes and … stuff … with songs." Smooooooth Beca. You make good words. "I've been doing it since I was a kid."

Chloe looked up in surprise. "A kid?!" Her blue eyes went wide at that news. "I would never have been able to play with stuff like this as a kid."

Beca smirked a bit and nodded. "My dad wanted me to experience music. But he was a little eager."

"Can I hear something?"

Beca hesitated. She had never shared her work with anyone - not in private. She had posted things online under screen names, but nothing that anyone would ever directly connect to her. She didn't know if she could be that open, especially with someone she barely knew. She looked up, planning to tell Chloe no. Then she saw the pure excitement on her friend's face. "Uh … sure. I can play you the first thing I made."

"Yay!" Chloe leapt at the news. Genuinely leapt. Then she plopped down on the edge of Beca's bed, while the younger girl sat in her desk chair.

Grabbing a box of flash drives, Beca dug through them until she found the one she was looking for. "Please keep in mind that I was a child and don't judge too harshly."

Chloe was nearly giddy with anticipation. "I can just picture little emo Beca, staring intently at some Panic! At the Disco / My Chemical Romance mashup."

Beca didn't look up from loading the song. "I wasn't emo."

"I don't believe it! Look at you. You had to have been a little emo."

Spinning her chair to face her guest, she grimaced a bit. "Nope. I wasn't emo." She gestured to the computer. "This all the proof you need." Then she started the track.

Chloe squealed and clapped her hands as she heard the first notes of Katy Perry's Roar emerge from the laptop. She was singing along under her breath when the music shifted. Suddenly, it was Sara Bareilles' Brave. The move was so subtle that Chloe's mouth dropped open. The song continued playing, weaving back and forth two female-empowerment anthems. It was a gorgeous arrangement, and Chloe sat looking back and forth between the computer and Beca - awe etched on her face. "You were a kid when you did that?"

Shyly, Beca nodded as she swung back and forth in her seat. "One day I noticed how similar the songs sounded, and how much the messages matched. I kept wondering if there was a way to put them together."

"That is aca-mazing, Beca."

Shrugging, Beca replied, "Technically it isn't great. I've done tons more now. Better stuff."

Chloe intently studied the girl's face. "I seriously want to hear more. That is a real gift."

The blue eye tractor beam pulled at Beca again. "Uh… yeah… thanks." She started squirming and asked, "Didn't you say something about a kidnapping?"

Leaping to her feet, Chloe exclaimed, "Crap! I lost track of time." She started looking around the room and pointed. "Get some shoes and pants on. I've got to get you moving."

Beca pulled her sweatpants lightly. "I have on pants."

"Not really a sweatpants kind of party. Put on some jeans."

"You're bossy."

"I know. Get moving."

Beca held her jeans and stood watching Chloe, then spun her fingers around.

Chloe got a wicked grin on her face. "Nothing I haven't seen before."

"I had no choice in that matter." The redhead kept staring like a lion locked on an impala. "We don't have to go…."

Spinning around, Chloe huffed out "fine."

Beca made quick work of changing. "I'm ready."

Chloe spun back around. "Awesome." She reached into her purse and pulled out a black cloth bag. "I am supposed to put this on your head."

The jovial banter screeched to a halt as Beca realized what Chloe had in mind. Her eyes went wide and she began to back towards her bed. "No no no no no."

The change in Beca startled Chloe. "What's wrong?" She held up the bag. "I'm not really kidnapping you. It's just a bag." She shook it to demonstrate. "You can breathe in it."

Beca still was pulling back into the corner. "Chloe, Chloe. Listen to me. You can't put that on my head. You can't do that. No." She was violently shaking her head with her hands out, pleading.

The seriousness of the situation finally hit Chloe. She dropped everything and crawled up onto the bed after Beca, wrapping her in a tight hug. "Shhhh Becs honey. It's okay. It's fine. You're okay." They sat like that for several minutes. Beca was surprised at how quickly her panic receded being held by her friend. Her breathing evened out and her chest loosened. Chloe kept holding her and whispered, "I'm sorry sweetie. You're okay. I'm here."

Beca's face was flush from the intensity of her response, but also from embarrassment and the fact that she was currently entangled with Chloe on the bed. They were going to be late to wherever they were supposed to be going. She was not wearing that bag across campus. Chloe's hair and perfume were really nice. All of that was swirling around, in addition to the question of why was she even still considering going to this insane activity?! The thought of not going had not really crossed her mind. Beca pulled her face up. "We need to go, Chloe. I don't want you getting in trouble with Aubrey."

Chloe lifted up her head as well. She raised her eyebrows. "Are you serious? You can't go to this."

Beca shook her head. "It is part of … being one of the Bellas… right?"

Chloe nodded. She added softly, "It is for initiation. Called Hood Night."

The girls detangled themselves and got off the bed. Beca sighed. "You can't put that on me."

"No way. We will walk over there without it." Chloe bit her lip and looked around. "I'm not sure what to do once we are inside." She spotted what she was looking for on Kimmy Jin's desk. "Aha!" She grabbed a pair of scissors and cut slits in the bag for eyes. "There we go."

The girls left and quickly began walking across campus. Beca was still extremely anxious, but was surprised at how well she was holding things together. Chloe had Beca's upper arm clutched between her hands as they walked. The younger girl kept feeling like she needed to apologize or say something. "Chloe…. I'm … um…"

Chloe turned her head towards Beca and smiled. "It doesn't matter. No explanations needed."

Beca released a breath she didn't realize she had been holding. "Ok."

They reached the building and went inside. Just outside of their intended classroom, Chloe paused and held the bag out with a frown. Beca started shaking a little. "I don't think I can do this."

Chloe put her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders and moved their foreheads together. "It is up to you. But I'll be right there. Just let me know." Beca kept her head bowed and made a tiny nod. Chloe slipped the hood over and moved the eyeholes into the right place. "Just hold my hand. It will be fast."

The empty cavernous pool sprawled out from Beca's vantage point at the top. It was filled with laughing, singing, drinking students from each of the a cappella groups on campus. Beca never really participated in the typical high school drinking parties much. She would go, hold a cup and wander around a bit, talk with people. After The Incident, alcohol was locked up in the house. That was part of her recovery program. Dangerous items like pills, knives, alcohol were kept away from her. It always made her feel a little like a juvenile delinquent, but it was done because of just how hard her journey back would be. She knew the college experience was somewhat synonymous with drinking, so she figured she would learn to like it eventually. For tonight, she resorted to her usual method of holding a cup and nursing it along for the night.

The ceremony had gone quickly, just like Chloe had promised. They had to drink some crappy wine masquerading as blood. There was some ridiculous oath that included not fraternizing with the Treblemakers. Then the hoods came off. Beca could tell that Aubrey was pissed about her coming late based on the super subtle way the blonde welcomed her. "Well, I guess we can finally get started, now that everyone has arrived." She also shot Chloe a bitchy look, but Beca wasn't supposed to have seen that. Nobody noticed the eye holes.

Beca decided to take a sip of her drink. The alcohol had actually helped to calm her down to where she could start processing the night's events. It would take much more time than she planned on staying to work through all of it - probably several nights standing under a hot shower would need to be involved. She scanned the crowd below, picking up on the girls she had just taken an oath with.

BE-CAW!

Startled, Beca dropped her drink, spilling it on her shirt. She spun around and smacked the offender. "Damn it, Jesse. I told you not to do that!" Jesse's face fell as he realized what had happened.

"I'm so sorry, Beca. I forgot. I am a little hammered." He looked like a kicked puppy. "I can get you another drink." He moved off before Beca could answer, and he stood at the top of the stairs looking back at her with a pathetic look on his face. Beca stared daggers at him from her perch.

"HI!"

At that exact moment, Chloe popped up behind Beca. The younger girl spun around again and saw the giggling redhead. "Hey."

Chloe booped Beca's nose and laughed. She leaned in close and whispered, "I'm so glad I met you." She wrapped her arms around Beca's shoulders. "I think we are going to be fast friends."

Beca nodded and grimaced. "You're drunk."

"Damn right!" Chloe returned, holding her cup in the air. "You okay? I just wanted to check on you." Somehow the sincerity shone through the inebriation.

"I'm good." Beca wrapped her arms around herself. "I may head out. It's been a big day. Crowds … kind of … not a fan." Chloe nodded and stared at Beca intently, but glassy-eyed. Beca held out her shirt. "And I'm covered with whatever poison that is you're drinking."

Chloe kept nodding. "You need me to walk you home?"

Beca laughed, "Uh… you can walk?"

Chloe shook her head. "Nope." Then she leaned over and kissed Beca on the forehead. "I'll see you later." She swayed her hips as she walked to the stairs. "Girl's gotta get her jiggle juice!"

Beca laughed and called out, "Make good choices!" Then she shook her head and turned to head back to the dorms. Jesse, who had been watching the whole exchange from in the pool, drained his cup and stood quietly with a pondering look on his face.