A/N: Hey guys! Sorry for the hour delay on the update (it's currently past midnight here so technically it's Friday where I'm at). We had an event earlier and I have a new side project I'm working on (see notes below). Hope you've enjoyed the update. This is still a bit short but I'm starting to fully get back into the story, so hopefully more chapters with reasonable lengths to come.
Anyways, here is chapter 7 with Bechloe build up and Stacie and Amy sneaking about.
I don't own pitch perfect.
Beca was practically dragging her feet as she finally reached the doorway of the Bellas' house. It was another long day behind her, and all she could think of was that craving feeling she had for her bed.
It was just a quarter to midnight but the house felt empty, both the kitchen and the living room were unoccupied and dimly lit, with close to absolute silence as possible filling the entire house. Not far away she could hear the loud sounds of music thumping out the giant speakers she knew the Trebles liked to pull out for their parties. Beca didn't need to be a genius to figure out that the Bellas were all probably there partying.
It's been a month or so since the big move to join the Bellas and Beca was growing more and more frustrated. Granted, they were by things she had no absolute control of. With every single day of reliving her past life, she sees no answer, no concrete idea of what she was doing. She's been here before, and everything felt like things were unravelling just as they did the last time. The panic swells inside of her like the waves of an ocean threatening to engulf her fully every single time she thought about it.
What thing must she do differently? What was it, her test? Because it couldn't possibly be to set the Bellas on the path to victory for the Worlds, right? It couldn't be as simple as that.
Beca took a deep breath, head in her hands. These days, it felt like a thousand different thoughts were always running in her mind and she really wished she could stop thinking for minute, have everything be still and just stay still.
Have the shadow over her disappear.
The shadow of how her soul will be judged and where she would be sent to.
All so she could just be.
Because honestly, Beca doesn't know what to think anymore.
How she does in her internship this time around, does it really still matter? To Beca it does, but it's because of her love of music.
The radio station? It was her legacy no matter what happens.
The Bellas? Well, verdict was still out on that one.
"You look like the world just crumbled." she heard Chloe say and automatically Beca looked up and found Chloe tossing her purse on the kitchen counter and pulling up a chair opposite Beca. She rested her hands on the smooth surface of the counter top before settling her chin on her hand. "I had a bad date." she said with a huff and sure enough Beca could tell she most definitely was on one, Chloe looked like she was dressed to impress.
Beca wasn't sure why but she most definitely felt annoyed by the thought of it.
"So, Mitchell, what's you're excuse?" Chloe then asked, her bright blue eyes searching her for any sign of answer.
Beca tried to look for words, anything to say really, but no word would come to mind.
She was just too distracted by how blue Chloe's eyes were.
Probably for the best because how does Beca even explain her predicament to anyone like Chloe? To Jesse, well, it was tricky enough but Jesse was her best friend, the ever dependable guy she knew for the entirety of her college experience.
Chloe… well… she wasn't sure what Chloe was to her just yet.
Only that she could feel herself get tongue-tied any time she attempted to speak, that her mind just goes completely blank, and that she could feel her heart palpitating for some reason.
It did the trick though, it made her forget of the thoughts that haunted her for now.
Perhaps Chloe was the cure for her madness?
"Oh come on, you barely say a word to anyone, I'm thankful you actually talk to me though, but only ever about the set list." Chloe then replied before shifting a bit in her sit and leaning towards Beca a little. "What is it, Beca Mitchell? What makes you tic? What's with this mysterious vibe you keep?"
"I'm not mysterious." Beca replied with a chuckle, amused at the thought. She's never considered herself mysterious, no.
Chloe smiled, it was clear she was pleased with the breakthrough. "Then why won't you let anyone of us know you? We practically know everything about Emily already."
Beca chuckled at that. She wasn't exactly well-versed in the rules that govern guardian angels but she knew for sure that whatever Emily had let them know was all in her little guardian angel script.
Beca took a deep breath and shrugs. "Well, what do you want to know Beale?"
Chloe smiled. "I don't know. Maybe everything, does that sound too much?" she then asked and Beca shook her head and smile.
There was something about how Chloe spoke with genuine interest and honesty that made her relax a little instead of feel alarmed that someone was trying to get close to her, know her.
In way, Beca thought it didn't really matter. Emily's been constantly reminding her that she doesn't really have to go through this lifetime like she did the last time. That she could do whatever she wanted, that she should stop overthinking and overanalyzing everything or else the time she's been gifted to relive would all be lost with a blink of an eye.
So screw it if she gets hurt this time. She's lived a careful life and she ended up dead at a young age anyways.
"Well?" Chloe then pressed on. "Come on Beca, surely you have hopes and dreams."
Beca laughed. "Ugh, no, don't say it like that. It sounds too cheesy." she replied, shaking her head. She's had those of course, and she really doesn't know what to think of it anymore. Does she still have that?
Maybe go to heaven and not go to hell for sure.
Beca took a deep breath, "You know, if you asked me that some other time in my past, I'd probably tell you that my hopes and dreams, they were all I had." she sincerely replied. "I kept chasing after each and every one of them relentlessly. Lately, well, I'm starting to realize that the while the future is something to think about, and the pursuit of my hopes and dreams, the present is just as important. I can't give you much info Chloe, sorry about that. I don't have much other than music really."
And it was the truth.
She had reached her dreams. She was reach, famous, and she could have had anything she wanted
Chloe looked at Beca with a gentle smile, an understanding look on her face. "We can change that." she simply replied, making Beca quirk an eyebrow. "You know, the future's something that leaves me anxious. I may have purposefully delayed graduation and failed the same class multiple times because, well, because I guess I'm scared. I don't what will happen next, or how life will treat me and I don't know, the Bellas became one hell of a tight-knit group my last year and they provided a nice safety net for me. I told myself just one year, and yet, here I am. Still here."
"Here I thought you just really loved being a Bella." Beca then teased.
"Don't get me wrong, I do. We've become a family this last four years. Maybe that's why it became harder for me to let go, maybe because if you only had music, it felt like the Bellas were all I had to. Now, I don't know. We might be at the end of the road, with the Worlds our last hurrah. I don't really know what to feel about the future and I'm still scared of what comes next, but I think more and more, I strongly believe, that wherever I go, I'll always have the Bellas as my family."
Beca nodded as she listened, Chloe's words reaching her.
"And you know, maybe the Bellas can be your family too?" Chloe then asked hopeful. "It's okay, if you think there isn't much to tell about yourself to others, but maybe we could be one of those things someday. I don't need to know the superficial things, you don't strike me as someone who likes small talk anyways. Besides, there's more than one way to know a person, past everything they say and all. But do know we're here, I'm here, whenever you feel overwhelmed about anything." she then added, reaching for Beca's hand on the counter and giving it a squeeze.
Beca looked at Chloe with a bit of awe. She was used to the strictly business about the set-list Chloe, the teasing Chloe too, but this side of Chloe, she never thought t even existed. The somber and wise Chloe.
"You said that the present is just about important, right?" Chloe then said. "Helps us make our dreams come true? Make memories with us, okay Beca?"
Beca simply nodded, not knowing what else to say.
Chloe Beale had just left quite an impression on her as she stood up and left the kitchen.
She's been keeping people behind her fortified walls for as long as she could remember, keeping Jesse and Benji at an arm's length before to protect herself.
Only to realize she ended up locking herself in, missing out on life as it happened.
Make memories with you… Beca thought to herself. All of you…
…I might just…
…I don't have much to lose anymore anyways.
"Did you catch any of what they said to each other?" Amy asked, hid behind the couch. They came back home a little inebriated from a party and right behind Chloe's heels. Stacie was about to head straight to her room when Amy dragged her along to spy on her and Beca for a little bit. The two of them practically jumped and crawled about the living room floor to hide form Chloe who headed was heading upstairs in the living room, and now, Stacie's still huddled with Amy on the living room floor.
"No, I don't have super powers, Amy." Stacie replied in a hushed tone and Amy was about to give her a rebuttal when all of a sudden they heard Beca give out a yelp.
Stacie and Amy exchanged looks, climbing up the couch and peering behind it's backrest to find Beca tossing her blazer away, biting her lip, and rolling up the sleeves of her button down. She stared at her arm as some faint blue light briefly illuminated the dimly lit kitchen before it disappeared. The look on Beca's face was indecipherable to Stacie, a mix of emotions flickering quickly before she looked up. Stacie reacted on instinct and ducked, pulling Amy down with her. For her part, Amy kept as quiet and still as possible.
They heard shuffling feet, and Stacie started dragging Amy about on the living room floor, trying to dodge Beca and staying out of sight as best they could, praying she doesn't notice them as she makes a run towards the stairs. As soon as they heard Beca's footsteps disappear, the DJ rapidly going up the flight of stairs, Stacie stood up, a look of disbelief on her face.
Amy followed suit, "Believe me now?"
"I… yeah…" Stacie replied not entirely sure what it was all about.
For all her brilliance, she has no idea what just happened.
And the enigma that was Beca Mitchell just got more interesting.
A/N Pt 2: There's a good chance the story might go the length of 'Your Love is a Song' (i.e., 30 chapters) but that depends on the time I have to spare. If it's based on that, it's probably gonna stick with 25 chapters with update lengths closer to 'What If' (mostly cause of my work load). If I find free time, it might extend by ~5 chapters. That said, things are about to get interesting ;}
PS: If any of you guys are in grad school or know someone in grad school, I'm currently involved in running a social media page trying to promote mental health awareness! PM me on tumblr (thehypotensivegrad) or twitter ( hypotensivegrad) for more info!
UPNEXT: Trying times, a performance, an argument, and Beca Mitchell trying to learn that she can't stay stuck in her head overthinking