Chapter 6 – Don't be so hard on yourself.
Beca barely made it into the back of the taxi that the Bella's had summoned. She was still in a daze from the kiss and her brazen attempt to keep in contact with her opposition! The Bellas were going to kill her she thought with mild horror. She felt like banging her head on the seat in front of her. There was no way Mina would even contact her. Sure, they had shared the hottest kiss of Beca's existence but for the blonde German goddess that was probably a totally normal thing, maybe it was even a deliberate attempt to psych her out for the competition.
Beca groaned and placed her head into her hands. She was an emotional wreck and was well on her way to an emotional down-spiral, full of overthinking. Someone pointedly cleared their throat, re-directing her attention to the rest of the car. Beca looked up to every Bella in the car staring straight at her and cringed slightly as she braced for the onslaught.
"Soo short stuff…when are you going to bang the hot German blonde?" asked Fat Amy without any preamble.
Chloe and Stacey leaned in eagerly for the gossip. Beca stared in shock at them like a baby deer in headlights. Her thoughts swirled as she tried to come up with a coherent sentence.
"Huh?" she stuttered out. Not her best line she thought with a grimace.
Chloe rolled her eyes "come on Beca we can see you are totally hot for each other. So, what's happening? when are you going to spontaneously combust with the latent sexual tension and climb her like a tree?" She said with exasperation.
"Wait you guys know? How? Why are you not furious at me?" She stammered in shock.
Stacey snorted "Know? We've been placing bets on you two doing the deed since the Auto show" she said with a laugh.
"Beca we are not mad; we just want you to be happy. You've been so busy and stressed lately. After all the time you spent on Jesse and us…well for once you should be a little selfish and pick something that you want, but would talk yourself out of." Chloe said softly while grabbing Beca's hand.
Tears pricked the corner of her eyes; she didn't deserve friends like these.
"It's no use though, she's from a completely different country and I still feel like I'm betraying the group by even thinking about her in that way. I still don't get how she would even go for someone like me anyways" Beca muttered with a blush. "I'm not exactly a model goddess like her" She finished with a frown.
"Oh, Beca..." Chloe exclaimed softly.
Beca suddenly found herself surrounded by the arms of her friends in the back of the cab.
"You need to see yourself the way we see you Becs" Chloe whispered in her ear
Beca's phone chirped with an incoming text message and the whole car froze to stare at it. Beca's heart rate spiked through the roof. What if it was Mina?
With shaking hands and bated breath, she reached for her phone.
- Can't stop thinking about your lips. Mina xx -
For once in her life, the ever sarcastic and cool Beca Mitchell regressed to an ecstatic teenager and punched the sky with a scream of happiness.
"She texted me! Whooo"
With that, the whole taxi was filled with excited chatter the whole way home.
-Page break-
Mina's hand was still sore, even with the much-appreciated ice pack from Beca. She fancied though that she could hear every drop of water falling from the melting ice pack thanks to the silence in their hire bus. She had definitely not been imagining the wide-eyed stares from her teammates after the evening's events. They couldn't believe she had lost her famous control and actually punched someone. Especially since he was essentially only insulting their main competition. Everyone was confused as to why their ever-cool ice queen had reacted so strongly to something that was not their problem.
Mina closed her eyes and rested her head on the headrest in front of her. God, she was tired
She felt the seat next to her dip as someone sat down. Mentally she braced herself for the impending conversation and opened her eyes to a concerned Peiter.
"Well, that was a night" Peiter ran his hands past his face, ruffling his hair so it stood up in messy waves. "Do you think we can keep our illustrious manager from finding out?"
Mina groaned and slumped even further forward in her seat in denial.
"Mien got I hope so" She muttered "This is the last thing DSM needs right now" She sighed and closed her eyes again in resignation and guilt, her hand tightening across the dripping ice pack.
Despite all the problems that would come as a result of this, she couldn't bring herself to regret punching that douche bag in the face earlier. The hurt she saw flash momentarily in Beca's eyes was all she needed to bring back the same rage. While she was worried about the repercussions on her team, she couldn't care less about the personal trouble she had probably landed herself in.
Peiter gently placed his hand on her shoulder. "Just be careful Liebling, I don't want to see you get hurt or get in trouble over all of this. At the end of the day, we are going to fly home again and then what will happen?"
Keeping her head on the seat in front of her, Mina rolled her head to the side to better glare at Peiter.
"Don't you think I don't know that" she quietly growled. "I'm not stupid, I know it's the wrong time, wrong place and wrong person. I get it. But I just can't get her out of my head."
Peiter sighed and slowly wrapped his arm around her shoulders in comfort. Mina shifted so that her head rested on his shoulder.
"I just don't know what to do" she whispered to her best friend.
"Just tell her what you feel and leave the rest up to fate. I know you; you've never backed down from a single challenge and now is not the time to start." He replied decisively
Mina sat bolt upright. "Are you crazy? There's no way that is a good plan. As you just mentioned we are going home soon"
Peiter shrugged nonchalantly "Sure but it sounds like she's what you really want, so we need to make this happen for the sake of love" he winked at her
Mina felt a sudden oncoming headache and an impending sense of doom. "What do you mean for the sake of love? I never said that".
Peiter smirked "I can tell these things as your best friend. You're in love".
Mina scowled heavily, trying in vain to disguise the faint blush she could feel on her cheeks. She reached out to swat him in an effort to shut him up. He caught her half-hearted movement easily before lunging unexpectedly towards her phone, grabbing it before she could register the threat. Smirking he shifted quickly out of the seat, quickly entering her predictable passcode.
Mina's heart rate skyrocketed. There's no way he was doing what she thought he was doing. She was going to murder him. Quickly she lunged towards him even as he started opening her messages. Forgetting completely about her image as a controlled leader, she leapt towards him in a desperate bid to prevent him from using the phone. Unfortunately, despite the fact Mina was taller than the female average, Pieter was still half a head taller than her and was easily able to avoid her attempts to reclaim the phone. Holding it above his head with straight arms, Mina could clearly see him open up her messages to Beca. Desperate times called for desperate measures and Pieter was very ticklish.
Without preamble, Mina began attacking Peiter's sides, banking on the confined isles of the tour bus to ensure he could not easily escape. The rest of DSM looked on in shock as their two fearless leaders began wrestling with each other in the middle of a quiet night-time bus ride, Mina fighting to retain her phone, even as Peiter fought valiantly to try and complete a message to Beca. After a short wrestling match filled with laugher, Mina eventually wrested her phone from his grasp, before fleeing back to her seat to avoid the gaze of the rest of her team. Looking down, Mina saw Peiter's poorly spelt attempt at trying to invite Beca out for a date somewhere and grimaced.
Her efforts in subsequently deleting the draft message gave Pieter enough time to collect himself and follow her at a more sedate pace with a grin.
"So, did you send it?" he asked with a smirk.
"Of course not, you dumb kopf" Mina replied testily "She's just had her heart broken and I'm not about to start offering her a hopeless, rebound date. Besides, we are going to be halfway across the state soon"
Peiter rubbed his face in exasperation at her stubborn refusal. "Liebling, please stop. You're denying yourself a shot at something that might make you happy. I know I warned you to be careful, but it's clear how much you care for her. Sometimes you just have to make the leap and see what happens"
Peiter back down next to her and grabbed her hand before he met her scared eyes. "Mina, I know you. You will never be happy if you deny what you really want. You've done nothing but bottle up your feelings since your parents died and buried yourself in work. I've stood by and watched as you became increasingly cold and unhappy, you're even keeping Ada at arm's length. Something needs to change."
The gentle tremble from Mina's hand in his gave the first indication he was finally getting through to her. Reaching forward he enveloped his closest friend into his arms, placing his head on hers as she shook slightly.
Moments passed like that as he felt her relax into the hug slightly. Sensing that she was less emotional he drew back to kiss her forehead. Pulling back, he whispered "Just think about it for me. Ok?"
Mina nodded against his chest before drawing back to sit more upright in her chair. Peiter could see the thoughts flying through her mind and was satisfied at his attempts to get through to her. Feeling more optimistic, he slumped down in the seat next to her to attempt some much-needed sleep during their overnight bus ride to their next destination.
Mina's mind was running at a hundred miles an hour. Was it even worth trying to make something with Beca happen? What if she wasn't interested? Or worse what if she decided that she was still straight. Mina could tell she was interested but that could be a passing phase for the little Maus. She stared down at her phone in the hope her answer would lie there. The half-deleted message from Peiter stared mockingly back at her.
Biting her lip Mina made an impulsive decision and began typing.
- Can't stop thinking about your lips. Mina xx -
With a deep breath, she hit send before she could overthink herself into inaction. She closed her eyes in mute panic as her head thumped against the headrest. She couldn't take it back now. The buzz from the nights drinking had long since faded in the aftermath of the party and so Mina was left with breathing exercises to calm her racing mind into a semblance of fitful sleep. After all, tomorrow was another long workday for the team
-Page break-
It was a chaotic morning in the Bella's Kitchen. Pandemonium reigned around the seemingly innocuous mobile on the kitchen counter, as a war council was convened.
"I can't believe you haven't messaged that German babe yet" Amy declared in borderline exasperation. "Do you need some of my confidence or something?" as she began reaching for her armpit.
Alarmed, Beca replied "No, No it's not like that! I just don't know what to say! She's like so hot and cool and I am just going to stop talking" She mumbled off as she buried her head in her hands, slumped around the large kitchen bench.
Chloe shimmied through the pack of girls, to wrap her arms around Beca. "It's ok Beca, just don't overthink it and be yourself." She offered with her usual relentless cheer.
Beca groaned and slumped further down onto the bench. "That's the problem, what if I'm myself and she doesn't like me?" she mumbled pitifully.
Stacy joined in on the hug at this point to offer support. "Just bang her senseless and she'll have no complaints" she offered with a smirk and a wink.
Beca groaned in despair. "That's even worse! I've never even dated a woman; I don't know what I'm doing! I couldn't even make Jesse happy and at least I knew how men worked. Oh god, what if I'm just straight-up terrible in bed and no one will date me" Her head hit the table with an audible thump as she pulled forward from her friends' arms.
Her voice was muffled as she spoke to the table. "This is the worst, I'm the worst. I can't even deal with a text message, let alone asking her out on a date. This is it; I'll just be alone forever." She could feel the comforting hands of the rest of the Bellas resting on her back as she spiralled further into anxiety-driven despair.
A rhythmic beeping from her watch forced her to lift her head off the counter in a half-hearted effort to check it. Glancing at her watch, her eyes suddenly widened in panic.
Sitting bolt upright she exclaimed "I'm going to be late", before practically throwing herself off the barstool in a panicked rush to gather her things. The rest of the Bellas watched on in confusion at the mad scramble, all curious as to what Beca was even late for.
There was barely enough time to yell a breathless goodbye as Beca rushed out the door in a flurry of chaos, leaving the rest of the team in a confused kitchen huddle – questioning her sudden departure.
-Page break-
DSM's morning training session was proving far more regimented than the Bellas' kitchen. The brutal pace of their training barely allowed any of them to catch their breath. The Komisar was in full ice queen mode – her eagle eye-catching every single mistake as she drilled them into the ground.
Everyone was trembling and very sweaty when she finally allowed them a brief reprieve for a water break. The team was very thankful for the breather as they all secretly wondered if their leader's bad mood was because of repercussions from last night's events. None of them had dared approach her to enquire though, as they all feared further punishments.
Peiter staggered over to his towel and drink bottle, wearily wiping the sweat dripping down his face. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Mina check her phone for the hundredth time that morning and grimaced to himself. Clearly, something was wrong here if Mina was acting so on edge.
Slinging his towel around his neck, Pieter began to slowly and unobtrusively saunter over to where Mina was standing, facing away and distracted by her phone. He was able to move unnoticed all to way until he was standing just over her left shoulder, watching as she refreshed her messages again. She was so absorbed in her task that simply clearing his throat elicited a mild jump from her, causing her to temporarily fumble her phone in a panic.
She glared at him as she turned around to face her obnoxious best friend.
"What?" She demanded testily.
Ah. So, she was in a fighting mood then. Peiter graced her with his most obnoxious smirk.
"What's wrong Liebling? Is it that time of the month?" he cheerfully replied.
If anything, Mina's glare became an outright scowl.
"I took your dumb advice and texted her. She never replied." Mina reluctantly bit out, looking down at the phone clutched in her hand so Peiter wouldn't be able to see the hurt in her eyes.
Peiter moved forward to give her a reassuring hug, completely forgetting the fact he was still completely saturated with sweat from their rehearsal efforts. As his skin made contact, Mina recoiled, holding him at arm's length in laughing protest.
"No don't! You're all sweaty! Nooo" she exclaimed as she rapidly retreated in horror.
A quiet beep from her hand had her attention rapidly shifting away from Pieter. As she swiftly opened up the notification. Looking wide-eyed at Peiter she panicked slightly,
"Oh god, she replied…". Mina's hands fluttered helplessly with indecision as she hovered over the unread message.
Pieter smirked; it was fun to see his fearless leader act like a normal human from time to time. He reached forward and opened the message for her before she could react, watching as her eyes widened as she absorbed the brief message.
- I can't seem to get you out of my head. Coffee sometime? –
Mina blinked stupidly at the simple words, re-reading them somehow didn't change what they meant. Beca was basically asking her out on a date.
Her heart sped up as she processed this new information, a cheesy, happy smile forming on her lips as she stared at those simple words. Looking up at Peiter in half fear, half joy, she babbled out the news,
"She's asking me on a date, I mean it's just coffee but it's basically a date and she likes me." before switching it borderline incoherent and excited German mumbling as she re-read the message again. Peiter grinned as he punched the air in celebration, overjoyed to see Mina this happy. Mina smiled back and bounced into his arms to celebrate as he spun them both around the room.
Stepping back slightly, Mina caught a glimpse of the rest of the team watching them act like excitable children with a great deal of curiosity. Blushing over her lack of decorum, she cleared her throat and straightened imaginary creased from her top.
"I'm happy with where we are at after this morning's efforts. We've all been working hard so I think an early afternoon is called for" Her impulsive decision was met by cheers from her sweaty and tired team.
The group rapidly collected up their belongings in celebration and departed the hired studio at speed, ostensibly so their usually strict Komisar couldn't change her mind. This was almost unnoticed by their command team, who had already re-focused on whatever prompted the snap decision. Either way, the team was just thankful to whoever made their fearsome Komisar smile like that.