Thanks for the reviews and follows so far :) hope you enjoy chapter 3!
The evening had closed in and the petite brunette reached the top of the staircase of her hotel floor and began making her way towards her hotel room, her laptop under her arm, hotel key in hand.
"See you soon short-stack" Beca heard a voice call out behind her and she peered over her shoulder to see that Fat Amy had stuck her head out of her own hotel room and was grinning at her. Beca gave her a short wave, struggling with her laptop under her arm, as she put her hotel key into her room door and wondered if the Australian had been waiting for her to turn up so she could yell something at her from down the corridor that only The Bella's appeared to inhabit. "You'd better hurry, only 10 minutes to go until dinner!"
The brunette rolled her eyes and gave Amy a thumbs up before stepping into her hotel room. She knew what touring with Aubrey meant, a tight schedule. But she'd purposefully stayed downstairs on the terrace for the past few hours since Aubrey had arrived to make the most of the sun, and the peace and quiet. Plus it wasn't like it would take much for her to get ready. Her roommate on the other hand...
Beca shut the door behind her with a thud and stared around the room before her with her mouth open in slight shock. She had been expecting to find the immaculate room she'd left after lunch. No such luck. "Erm…Chloe?" She said tentatively, wondering for a moment if they'd been burgled.
She let out a slight sigh as she looked to her left and saw the door to their ensuite fly open. To many the sight of Chloe looking so stressed and flustered would be an uncomfortable thing to have to be around. As would having to see the redhead swanning around in nothing more than a towel. But months of living with Chloe meant that this sight wasn't an unusual one, nor one that made Beca feel uncomfortable. What difference would it make that they were on the first day of their European Tour huh?
Beca saw Chloe screw her face up, and the brunette knew what that meant. Her best friend still wanted to cry but had ran out of tears, "Beca it looks awful!" Beca furrowed her brow slightly as the redhead let out a quick sob, before turning her back on the room and reentering the ensuite. The door remained open which Beca knew meant Chloe expected her to follow her and/or get involved with this conversation.
Beca shuffled over to her single bed with a sigh, placing her laptop down on the light bedcovers, "What looks awful?" The brunette asked as she made her way over to the ensuite, leaning against the doorway, watching Chloe shake her head at her own reflection in the bathroom mirror.
"Everything!" Chloe whined, "My nail broke while I was getting in the shower, I can't for the life of me work out what to wear tonight, and my hair looks ridiculous now that Amy took a chunk out of it!" Ah, the hair. Beca should've know this meltdown would be about her hair.
The brunette sighed, "Chloe I told you, keep your hair down and it's not even noticeable."
"So it's noticeable if my hair is up?"
"Of course it is, Amy took a chunk out of it remember?" Beca knew that had probably been a bad response as her best friend turned her head to her with a panicked expression. The brunette tried to keep a grin under wraps as she stepped into the bathroom, reached out, and gently took hold of Chloe's long red hair that flowed with loose natural waves, "Look just, keep your hair down…like this…" Beca moved the hair into place and gave the woman in front of her a reassuring smile, "…and it looks perfect. Your hair looks…perfect."
The bathroom fell silent as Beca moved Chloe's hair off the redheads shoulders and her eyes caught the small cluster of ginger freckles on her skin. The brunette swallowed loudly. Fortunately Chloe hadn't seemed to notice, turning back to the mirror, clearly satisfied with her best friend's opinion, "That still doesn't help my outfit situation" she said with a sigh, moving out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
Beca had frozen, hardly able to collect her thoughts, her hand feeling numb where it had accidentally glazed Chloe's soft skin. With a sigh she followed her best friend into their bedroom as Chloe made her way over to the tiny wardrobe they had by her bed, "well for that you need to remember that you're spending the next ten weeks with The Bella's. They're going to see you in every outfit more than once." Beca suddenly felt herself go red in embarrassment as her best friend casually dropped her towel from around her naked body, and began rummaging through the wardrobe, "Woah dude! What have I told you about doing that!" Beca protested, immediately turning her back to face the wall beside her single bed. But despite her protests, she still couldn't help the small smile that had grown on her embarrassed face.
Chloe had this terrible habit of walking around their apartment back home in nothing more than a towel before casually getting dressed in their lounge, or kitchen, or wherever their clothes happened to be piled after returning from the laundrette. Beca had been 'unfortunate' enough to walk into or past Chloe, usually when the redhead had been in only her underwear, and Beca felt it was only right she protested each time or it would just be weird. Right? "Oh relax you've seen it before" she heard her best friend giggle.
"And I will say the same thing I say every time which is that it still makes me uncomfortable whenever you drop your towel. Stop doing it!" Beca said, a grin still plastered on her face, though she tried not to reveal it in her voice. She remained with her back to the redhead, though she had a feeling she could hear Chloe shrugging some clothes on.
"You know Beca we're going to be sharing a room for the next few days at least, you're going to have to get used to it." Chloe said in a matter of fact tone and Beca rolled her eyes, muttering a sarcastic "Great…" under her breath, though her grin still remained as the image of Chloe's ass flashed into her memory.
"Tada!"
She didn't dare turn around in case her best friend was still naked, but Chloe had let out another short giggle, "Oh you can relax, I've got clothes on!" and the brunette felt the damp towel Chloe had been wearing hit her in the back.
Beca felt her breath catch in her throat as she turned around to see Chloe stood before her, not noticing the nervous grin the redhead wore. Her focus was on the light blue top that Chloe often wore, which Beca had once said was her favourite thing in Chloe's wardrobe. It was true, the brunette loved how it brought out her best friend's blue eyes. Those eyes were what drew Beca into anything Chloe said. Like a siren call. Matched with a pair of skinny jeans, Beca couldn't understand why Chloe always worried about what she wore. She looked amazing in anything. The brunette dragged her eyes from Chloe's waist and up to her face and she was surprised to see the redhead grinning at her, clearly enjoying the attention she was getting. Beca nodded awkwardly, clearing her throat, "That'll do" she croaked.
"That'll do? I'm not looking for 'that'll do'! I need something good!"
"Wha…it's only dinner Chloe! At a hotel! How good do you need it?" Beca's heart jumped as she watched Chloe pull her light blue top off before turning back to the small wardrobe for a different outfit. The brunette didn't turn around this time, instead she admired her best friend's breasts and how well they filled her lilac bra, "Besides…you look good in anything" she managed to force out.
It seemed to be enough for the redhead, who paused, turned back to her best friend and pointed at the blue top that she'd chucked on her single bed earlier, "So I should stick with this?"
"Yes."
"You really think it looks good?"
Beca grinned picking up the top and throwing it at Chloe, "Yes! Now come on! It's 6pm already! Aubrey's gonna freak if we're late and we still have to order our drinks!"
Aubrey sat forward in her chair at the dinner table, eagerly awaiting the remainder of the Bella's to join her. It was their first day of their European Victory Tour and she had just spent an enjoyable forty minutes unpacking her suitcase and arranging her items into the small wardrobe provided in the small twin room which she had had no choice in sharing with Fat Amy.
The Australian sauntered over to her, plonking herself down in the seat to her right with a long sigh, "So where do you think everyone else is?" and Aubrey merely shrugged. The hotel had a rule that before seating, guests had to order their drinks at the bar. She had specifically told all the Bella's to meet in the dining room at 6pm sharp. It was now 6.03pm and gauging Amy's tone they weren't all up at the bar, where her roommate had just been. She felt sure that had Amy not been sharing a room with her than the Australian would also not be here.
The blonde sat up straight as Cynthia-Rose, Ashley, Jessica and Flo walked over to the table. Grins of greetings all around as they settled in seats to Aubrey's right and left. She jumped as she turned to see Lily stood between herself and Fat Amy, having not seen her appear at all. Lily took a seat and she let out a small smile and a gentle wave saying something under her breath that sounded much like she'd just put sugar in all the salt shakers, but Aubrey couldn't be sure. As she glanced around the table she noticed that the rest of the Bella's had also struggled to hear what their quiet friend had said.
Shaking her head slightly, as though to forget Lily's weirdness, Aubrey smiled with a long exhale, "Well, five minutes isn't too late." She chose to ignore the eye rolling of her fellow Bella's and looked at the two empty chairs on the other side of the table to her, "Has anyone seen Beca and Chloe?"
"You mean Bhloe?" Fat Amy said with a smirk, nudging Aubrey with her elbow as the other Bella's grinned, looking at each other then over at the empty seats. A couple of waitresses arrived with The Bella's preordered drinks. Aubrey's heart sank. Was this 'Bhloe' nickname still a thing?
She'd be lying if she admitted she hadn't become concerned the moment she'd found out that Chloe had decided to move to NYC with Beca eighteen months ago. She knew only too well how Chloe felt about the woman who was three years their junior. For too many nights over the three years since Aubrey had graduated she had listened to Chloe on the phone, the redhead bawling her eyes out because she loved Beca so much but Beca couldn't possibly love her back. She remembered how besotted the redhead had been over that alt-girl the moment they had first met her six years ago. Chloe had really pushed Aubrey to have Beca join the Bella's, and if Aubrey hadn't considered Chloe her only friend back then, she would've immediately said no.
Since then Aubrey hadn't liked how selfish and rebellious the brunette was. The girl would forever put her feelings and her wishes before anybody else's. And every time, Chloe would back Beca up. She would make excuses for her rudeness. Chloe would be let down again and again and still she would never hear anything against the brunette. And in a small way, no matter how long the years went on, Aubrey still harboured a ball of dislike for Beca and the way she appeared to treat the redhead. Aubrey considered Chloe to be her very best friend, and as such she wanted the best for her. Beca was far from the best. If this whole 'Bhloe' thing continued, then Chloe would get her hopes up, which would only eventually end in upset.
"Okaaay, Bhloe is not a thing, nor do I want to hear any of you using that as a nickname for Beca and Chloe, understand? It's only going to upset them.." Aubrey said with an air of authority and seriousness despite the sickeningly sweet smile on her face. The Bella's screwed their faces up in confusion, wondering who had made Aubrey the leader all of a sudden. But before they could say anything more, Chloe arrived at the dining table with a broad grin on her face, closely followed by Beca who gave the group a smile, raising her hand in a silent greeting.
"Hey ladies! Isn't it great to be all together again?" The redhead said as she took a seat beside Cynthia-Rose while Beca took the seat on the other side of Chloe. The table fell silent as the Bella's stared at Beca and Chloe, both of whom looked back at them, "What?" Beca asked curiously and Aubrey thought she saw the brunette's cheeks flush a little.
"Nothing! Erm…Beca tell us about how work is going? You're now in New York?" Aubrey said hurriedly, hoping to save any embarrassment that may bestow Chloe, whose suspicious expression now relaxed into a smile as she didn't take her blue eyes off Beca once.
"Oh…right…yeah. Well I'm still working for Residual Heat, within their production department…" Beca began, and Aubrey watched as a member of bar staff approached their table, handing what looked to be a gin and tonic to Beca, and a glass of rosé to Chloe,
"…I'm in charge of a really small team who get to listen to all demos and work out if the artists are what Residual Heat are looking for…" the brunette continued as the bar staff placed a small glass of ice in front of her, and a small glass of ice in front of Chloe, before finally placing a large bottle of still water between them,
"…so while it's not exactly what I'm looking for job-wise, it's actually just acting as another stepping stone towards hopefully becoming a music producer…" Beca continued.
Aubrey couldn't help her mouth slowly drop open as she watched Beca reach over to grab the small glass in front of Chloe and tip the ice into her own glass. Meanwhile Chloe had reached out to take Beca's Gin & Tonic and was in the process of using her fork to pull out the wedge of lime in the girl's long drink, "Beca's been in talks with her boss about potentially having a day in the week reserved exclusively for music production" Aubrey watched on as Chloe returned Beca's glass before the redhead gave her a little nudge, and the brunette nodded, "yeah, actually it's a pretty big deal. If he agrees then I'll be collaborating with one of the producers and learning the ropes on the job which would be awesome!"
The Bella's congratulated Beca, though Aubrey noticed that each of them had been looking at Beca and Chloe in stunned silence as the two had so casually swapped ingredients of each other's drinks. Fortunately it seemed neither of the woman had noticed as they took a sip of their own drinks.
Aubrey furrowed her brow. This type of interaction wasn't one that she'd seen between Beca and Chloe before. Particularly not by Beca. When the group had toured the US together two years ago, the two women had been nothing like this. They had rarely been seen together and that was because Chloe had admitted to Aubrey at the beginning of that tour that she was going to be taking a step away from Beca with the intention of removing her feelings for the brunette. Chloe had admitted back then that Beca was never going to choose her, it would always be Jesse. The last time Aubrey had been aware of Chloe's unrequited love for the brunette was at the end of the bootcamp she had ran for them three years ago.
The early morning sun rose to reveal a beautiful spring morning. Aubrey trudged over the grass that led from her sleeping quarters in the central hub of the retreat over to the large tent that housed her sleeping Bella's. She had all put them through their paces over the past couple of days and she was thrilled for them that they had finally found their sound once again. She knew they were going to crush it at the World Championships in a couple of months time!
As she stomped over the greenery towards the large tent she could hear whispered voices. She furrowed her brow, having once suspected that the voices were coming from within the tent when really they were coming from outside. Her heart lurched as she saw the familiar figures of Chloe and Beca sat side by side on the edge of the lake behind the tent. She couldn't quite make out what was being said by Beca, but it was enough for Chloe to stifle a laugh as she nudged the brunette's arm. She wondered how long they had been sat there for. It felt intimate. She began to wonder if the two of them had been laying together in the tent overnight and that they'd decided to leave the tent to get more privacy. Either way, it was bound to be Chloe's ideal situation to be in with Beca.
Aubrey cleared her throat loudly, and she saw the two young women freeze, before turning to look behind them. Just as they did the zip to the tent sounded behind her, and the Bella's began filing out of the tent looking decidedly annoyed. Fat Amy had even glared at the blonde and Aubrey wondered whether the Bella's had actually been lying awake listening to their co-captain's whispering to each other. "Bella's, time for one final group activity. Packing the tent away!" Aubrey said cheerily, taking no notice of the tired groans from the Bella's.
Instead she watched as Beca stood up, and reached a hand out to Chloe to help her stand up, which the redhead appeared to gladly take. The two then slowly began making their way over to the group, avoiding Aubrey's disapproving look. "Erm, Chloe? Can I have a word?" The blonde asked as the two women passed her, and her stomach dropped as Beca looked back at Chloe with a "will you be okay?" expression. The redhead nodded her head slightly with an encouraging expression as if to say "you don't have to worry" which was enough for Beca to continue walking back to the Bella's, but not without giving Aubrey a slight glare.
"Everything okay?" Chloe asked as she began walking away from the Bella's alongside Aubrey. The blonde looked at her best friend who was watching her nervously.
"What are you doing?" Aubrey couldn't help whispering, a question that had clearly caught Chloe off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"Chloe," Aubrey looked over her shoulder, satisfied that they were far enough from the Bella's to stop walking, "don't make things more difficult for yourself then they already are!" She pleaded, and she watched Chloe turn her head away from her to look back at the Bella's while Aubrey quietly continued, "I'm serious Chloe, you've been tormenting yourself for almost four years now!"
"It's nothing Aubrey-"
"-I saw the way you looked at her last night Chloe. The way you looked at her just now. That's not nothing."
Aubrey watched tears beginning to form in Chloe's eyes as the redhead turned back to her, and her stomach sank. She knew Chloe well enough to know that she still adored Beca. "Chloe, you have to stop doing this to yourself"
She saw Chloe swallow loudly and take a deep shaky breath. The redhead raised her eyebrows, keeping her voice low and pleading, "Aubrey there's only five weeks left before graduation. Please, just let me have these final few weeks to-"
"-to what Chloe? To tell her how you feel?"
"To be blissfully in denial!" Chloe finally revealed in a hushed tone.
Aubrey let out a long sigh as her best friend looked at her with shimmering blue eyes, and she looked over at the Bella's who were busying themselves by tidying away their belongings, taking it in turns to glance in their direction. She noticed Beca pulling Chloe's sleeping bag out of the tent and begin to roll it up. It was one of the most selfless things Aubrey had ever seen Beca do and it took her by surprise. It didn't make her like Beca more, nor did it mean that she suddenly trusted the alt-girl who held Chloe's heart in the palm of her hands without even realising. But it helped her respond appropriately to the redhead. So with another long sigh she turned back to Chloe, "Five weeks. But you have to promise me you'll try to let her go after graduation. You owe it to yourself Chloe, to find someone who feels the same way for you as you do for them." And she placed a reassuring hand on her best friend's shoulder as Chloe glanced over at Beca with a sad smile.
Thirty minutes later and the Bella's were sat around the dining table, listening to an outrageous tale by Fat Amy when their meals arrived. Aubrey glanced down at her dish of moussaka with glee, pleased to finally be eating after a long day of travelling. She looked around the table at her fellow Bella's. Cynthia-Rose and Flo were picking through Flo's salad to see if there really was plenty of avocado, whilst Lily had already begun tucking into her paella. She noticed Ashley and Jessica whispering to each other under their breath as they glanced at Beca and Chloe, and Fat Amy began tucking into a large steak that she'd proudly ordered "rare".
"So the thing about steaks in Australia is that it's mostly always alligator," the Australian said casually, and Aubrey wondered if it was really the truth, but she let Amy continue, "but since being home I've had a massive hankering for…"
Aubrey looked at the woman to her right who had stopped cutting her steak mid-sentence and was now staring across the table in surprise. Aubrey looked at her fellow Bella's all of whom were now staring at Beca and Chloe. Aubrey furrowed her brow as she followed their gaze.
Beca had slid her plate across to Chloe, who subsequently dragged the tomatoes from Beca's plate onto hers. Whilst that was happening Beca was busy picking off every cube of feta cheese that was on Chloe's plate and placing it on hers. Beca pulled her plate back once they were finished only for Chloe to sweetly whisper "ooh you missed a bit" and place a final cube of feta on Beca's plate. The two began eating then looked up, surprised to see the rest of their party staring at them in shock.
"…what?" Beca asked, and Aubrey struggled to find the words to ask what the hell was going on. It was like they were perfectly synced with each other.
Fortunately Fat Amy took control of the situation, "Er, guys, what's with the food swapping?"
"And the ice" Cynthia-Rose chipped in.
"Yeah and the ice?" The Bella's muttered and agreed. Beca and Chloe looked from their food to each other then back to the Bella's.
Beca shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, "Chloe hates feta. And ice."
"It hurts my teeth!"
"Yeah it hurts her teeth."
"And Beca hates limes. And tomatoes." Chloe chimed, with an expression as though she couldn't understand why they were having to explain things.
"So…why didn't you order them without?" Fat Amy said as though it would be the most obvious thing to do.
"I dunno," the brunette shrugged, "it's just…easier."
The Bella's watched as Chloe briefly placed a hand on Beca's upper arm and they were surprised to not see the brunette flinch away from the physical contact like she used to, "Beca loves feta cheese" the redhead said, before bringing her hand back down from her best friend's arm.
"She's right" Beca pointed at Chloe with a nod, "I'd be annoyed if she'd ordered her salad without it!"
Aubrey was lost for words as the Bella's began a small debate about whether feta cheese was nice or not and what it was nice in, and all of a sudden the dynamics of the group returned to normal. She didn't take part in the conversation, instead using the time to slowly eat her moussaka and watch the interaction between Chloe and Beca. While there were many different things about the two in the way that they interacted one thing remained the same, Chloe still looked at Beca adoringly while Beca continued going about her life obliviously.
As she watched Beca picking at a piece of chicken whilst talking over the table to Fat Amy she saw Chloe staring at Beca with a soft smile on her face. The redhead had barely touched her salad, instead clearly blissfully content in watching the brunette's every move and listening to every word. Aubrey felt a dark cloud loom over her body as she realised that her best friend still had deep feelings for the petite alt-girl. All the progress the redhead had made trying to remove her feelings for Beca throughout the US tour two years ago seemed to have been completely eradicated in the eighteen months that the two had lived together in NY. Now Aubrey feared that Chloe would be falling even harder, and the only way to address this unrequited love would be for the redhead to tell Beca the truth. The problem with that would be the inevitable heartache that would proceed that revelation, when the brunette would undoubtedly tell Chloe that she didn't feel the same way. Things would get awkward. And then the Bella's truly would be over.
As the Bella's raised their glasses to toast the first night of their tour, Aubrey took a deep breath as she looked at Chloe and Beca. She'd be keeping an eye on these two. The end of her Bella's was in the palm of their hands, and they had the chance to crush it if Chloe ever revealed her deepest most feelings to Beca.
Eek hope you enjoyed this chapter. I loved writing it! Chapter 4 up tomorrow folks!
Keep them reviews a'coming - they're lovely to see :) xx