Hey everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews and follows! It's really spurred me on to get this chapter out to you as soon as possible!
Dobes77 thank you for the compliment and for appreciating the new music :) I love listening to songs of a certain mood depending on what type of scene I'm writing!
GanHer I'm pleased Staci & Aubrey have been pulling at your sappy heart strings ;) it's been a complete accident writing them together, hence why only the final few chapters have included them.
For those needing a song while reading a scene that will play out (maybe...possibly...) between Staci and Aubrey in this chapter then 'Happen' by Emeli Sandé' is the greatest song that could ever be potentially sung by Aubrey about Staci. Lyrics n all!
Right. Yeah. Enjoy guys :)
Fat Amy was the first to stagger through the door of the apartment that The Bella's were renting in the centre of Prague. She pulled Chloe through the door by the hand, gripping it tight as the limp body of the redhead allowed herself to be part-dragged along by the Australian, and part-carried by her girlfriend, who had an arm around her waist while Chloe had her left arm slung around Beca's shoulder. The redhead giggled loudly as the two women supporting her groaned at how heavy and difficult she'd become since leaving the bar. Behind them staggered the rest of The Bella's. Each one appeared exhausted and drunk. Amy, Chloe, and Beca had left the bar and bumped into all The Bella's on their way back to the apartment. A good job really as Aubrey was the only one with the key.
Beca struggled as she supported Chloe over to the kitchen sink, wanting to keep her there so she could get her to drink some water. Chloe was the worst when it came to drinking water after a night out, but Beca knew if the redhead didn't get any water in her soon it would be a long flight home for them tomorrow…or…later today. Chloe groaned as she held her head over the sink, pushing her hair up from her face. "Chlo, I'm gonna need you to drink some water…" Beca said firmly, smoothing her hand over the woman's back as she reached out with her other hand to try to open a cupboard and pull out a glass. "Guys, a little help here please?" The brunette said loudly as she quickly wrapped her arm back around Chloe, who almost collapsed to her right.
Jessica and Ashley had joined Flo on the floor of the open-plan kitchen/lounge, leaning against the wall, all with drunken grins on their faces as they watched the spectacle in front of them. Lily was already curled in the foetal position, having somehow got into the apartment long before The Bella's had arrived back, and was now snoozing on the floor under the armchair. Cynthia-Rose was sat at the long kitchen table, sleepily spinning a coin on the surface between her fingers. And Amy had been laid back on the long sofa, though she was now standing up with a heavy sigh, making her way over to the kitchen area to help Beca. None of the women in the room had noticed that Aubrey and Staci had disappeared. None of them had really seen them walk in the door of the apartment behind them and dash upstairs.
Beca was relieved to see Amy approach her and the brunette began handing her girlfriend over to the Australian, "Chloe I just need you to stand with Amy for a minute while I-"
"Nooooo!" The redhead whined loudly, trying to struggle out of Fat Amy's arms, "I want to stand with you! Beca I love yooou! Don't leave meeeee!"
"-relax, I'm just getting you a glass of water!"
Beca grabbed a glass from the cupboard, smiling slightly at how ridiculous her girlfriend was sounding. If sober-Chloe could see herself right now she'd be very embarrassed. She chuckled, "I'm not leaving you, you weirdo. I'm right here!" She said with a grin as she held out the glass of water to Chloe who stopped struggling for a moment and took the glass with a drunken smile.
"Yeah you are" the redhead tried to say seductively, giving her a wink and taking a gulp of water before reaching out with her free hand and grabbing the front of Beca's jacket. Beca forgot to breathe as Chloe pulled her forcefully towards her, kissing her hard on the lips. Fat Amy moved away from the couple and loud whoops echoed around the apartment as the rest of The Bella's cheered at Beca and Chloe's embrace. But the kiss was short-lived.
Beca quickly pulled away and wiped her face, grimacing slightly as she remembered Chloe had thrown up not much longer than an hour ago. Chloe merely giggled, taking another large gulp of water then trying to find the worktop to place the glass down on. Beca lunged for the glass to stop it from falling to the ground. No sooner had she moved it to safety Chloe had thrown her arms around Beca's neck and was hugging her tightly, "I love you Beca!" she exclaimed loudly and Beca found herself patting her girlfriend on the back, awkwardly aware that Fat Amy was probably beaming at them from wherever she'd walked off to. Amy had always been their biggest fan, even before they were anything more than friends.
Beca smiled, "I know dude". Of course she knew. She didn't need to hear Chloe say it, even when the redhead was very drunk and Beca was getting more sober by the minute, the longer she needed to take care of Chloe. She had seen it in Chloe's eyes from the first moment they had told each other they had feelings for each other. Those bright blue eyes that had sparkled at her for so many years had finally been given the chance to openly pour out every ounce of Chloe's being and fall into Beca's heart. She had felt it. She knew it. She knew that Chloe loved her. And she loved her too. She maybe always had?
Chloe pushed back on Beca suddenly with a dramatic gasp, keeping her hands on Beca's shoulders, an action that had filled the brunette with dread. What was wrong? "Beca I'm so sorry!" the redhead exclaimed, before looking around the room at the other Bella's then resuming her focus on her petite girlfriend, whispering loudly, "We're supposed to be keeping us a secret!" motioning between the two of them with her right hand, then pausing to look down at Beca's lips, "The others can't…can't know that we're…you know…dating." Chloe emphasised her loud whisper at the end of her slurred sentence, looking back up to Beca's eyes with a grin and an overemphasised wink.
Beca couldn't help but chuckle as she kept her arms around Chloe's waist to keep the woman upright. She'd had a feeling that The Bella's had known about them for a while. She wasn't sure when, but from the relatively casual reaction of Staci when she'd caught them in the storage cupboard at their Paris venue last week, she figured The Bella's must've talked. This was, however, the first time she and Chloe had kissed in front of them. It was the first time they had spoken about dating in front of them. "Well Chlo, I think the cat's outta the bag now so..." Chloe, having realised what she'd done, threw a hand to her mouth with a dramatic gasp, but Beca chuckled again, "…It's okay! They were gonna find out eventually." and she reached up, gently pulling Chloe's hand from her mouth and down to hold against her chest, over her heart. It was the most affectionate thing Beca could ever recall doing in public and, had the alcohol she'd consumed earlier not still been in her system, she would've definitely not done it.
Somehow, in Chloe's drunken state, she had translated this action as permission to tell The Bella's officially. So after a few beats of silence the redhead suddenly threw her arms in the air in victory, turning in Beca's arms to face the women in the lounge with a grin, yelling at the top of her voice, "Beca and I are dating and she's my girlfriend and I'm her girlfriend and I love herrrrr!" The brunette had brought a hand to her face in mild embarrassment at her girlfriend's announcement as The Bella's whooped and cheered again. She kept hold of Chloe with one arm while the redhead swayed, and reached out with her other hand for the glass beside them, "Alright you, come on, have some more water please". Chloe swooped in and kissed Beca quickly one more time on the lips before taking the glass from her girlfriend and this time the brunette just grinned as she kept her arms around Chloe's waist.
What the couple hadn't realised though was that Fat Amy had been accidentally live-streaming Chloe's announcement on The Bella's Instagram account, having thought in her drunken state that she was recording the moment to save to her phone's camera roll so she could show them in the morning. What neither Beca nor Chloe could predict was that both sets of their parents, having had busy days at work, were now settling down in their respective homes to check how The Bella's were getting on on the final night of their tour, via Instagram, despite the girls being 6 hours ahead of them…
...
"Aubrey! Apartment key!" Aubrey heard the Australian yell at her from the front of the group of Bella's. Amy was the unfortunate one having to help Beca try to get Chloe back from the bar and up to the apartment they were all renting. Aubrey was wandering along, several paces behind the group, with Staci strolling by her side. Neither had looked at each other. Neither had touched. Neither had talked. They'd just walked. Aubrey jumped as she felt Staci reach into the back pocket of her jeans and pull the apartment key out. The tall brunette dashed to the front of the group, handing the key to Fat Amy who was too busy tugging at Chloe to keep her upright to notice who had given her the key. Aubrey carried on walking, catching up with Staci who had stopped to let the Bella's walk ahead. And they resumed walking side by side, stopping once they'd reached The Bella's who gathered at the front door of the apartment building while Amy attempted to let them in.
Aubrey froze as she felt her hand being taken gently by Staci. She remained her focus on the back of the heads of The Bella's, but she swallowed loudly as she squeezed the model's hand while they interlaced their fingers. Aubrey's heart was racing so fast she could barely breathe, her mouth tingling with anticipation. She so desperately wanted to kiss Staci again.
The Bella's filed into the entrance hall of the apartment building and began making their way up the two flights of spiralled stairs to their apartment. But Aubrey hesitated, deciding not to descend the stairs just yet, and the moment she saw the last Bella before her and Staci disappear up the spiral staircase, Aubrey tugged the tall brunette towards her. Their lips crashed together hungrily, tongues swirling as Aubrey brought her hands up to Staci's face, cupping her cheeks as Staci reached her long arms down and fondled Aubrey's ass, pulling her body closer to hers. Reluctantly the two parted, and Aubrey allowed Staci to take her hand and quickly lead her up the first flight of the spiral staircase. Once they knew the coast was clear again, they quickly resumed their original position, kissing as quickly and quietly and messily as they had done before. Their hope was to ideally not be locked out of the apartment, so within a matter of moments they were dashing up the stairs again, meeting The Bella's who were patiently waiting to be let in the apartment.
None of The Bella's noticed that Aubrey and Staci were last to walk into the apartment, and Aubrey quietly closed the door behind them. Both women quickly took their heels off. Stifling a small giggle, Aubrey felt Staci grab her hand and tug her towards the small set of stairs that led to the bedrooms. The model dragged the blonde into her bedroom, knowing full well that her roommate, Lily, didn't sleep in the bedroom, preferring to sleep on the floor of the lounge, or on the sofa at a push.
Aubrey stood in the middle of the dark room nervously. Her heart was racing in anticipation. She wanted this. She really wanted this. But at the same time she was absolutely terrified. She'd never been with another woman before. She was the older of the two of them, yes. But from the way Staci acted, from the stories she'd heard about Staci in college, she was certainly the less experienced of the two of them. So she waited with baited breath, trying to calm her nerves, but her body was trembling.
Suddenly she felt Staci take both her hands and they stood like that for at least a minute. This was never how their make-out sessions began. Or even finished. It was so dark that Aubrey could just make out the outline of Staci's figure. But she couldn't see her facial expressions, and she couldn't possibly tell what she was thinking.
"Guys, a little help here please?" Beca's voice sounded out from downstairs, presumably to the rest of The Bella's who were down in the kitchen/lounge with her. But the two women upstairs didn't seem to notice, both focused on each other's heavy breathing. Aubrey felt Staci slowly lean into her, and she felt her lips land on the corner of her mouth, readjusting slightly when she realised she'd just missed the target. And they stood there for a couple of minutes, delicately kissing, their hands entwined with each other's by their sides. They broke apart, their foreheads rested against each other's, sniggering as they heard Chloe yell from downstairs, "Nooooo! I want to stand with you! Beca I love yooou! Don't leave meeeee!" Aubrey couldn't even begin to imagine what was going on downstairs. She knew her best friend was safe. That Beca had probably just stepped two paces away from Chloe but in Chloe's drunk state it had felt like miles away. So she remained her focus on what was happening up here, right now. And what was happening was Staci had begun gently rubbing the tip of her nose against hers.
Aubrey's heart was still hammering against her chest as Staci brought her lips to hers again, and as their mouths met, loud whoops were heard from The Bella's downstairs. Aubrey and Staci immediately broke their kiss, letting out quiet giggles, knowing full well that the whoops had not been directed at them but that the timing had been almost perfect. "I love you Beca!" Aubrey heard her best friend yell downstairs and the two women upstairs grinned.
"See, absolutely made for each other." Staci whispered. Aubrey didn't want to think for a moment that the brunette may be talking about the two of them for fear that she got her hopes up. So she brought her lips back to Staci's and this time their kiss deepened. Aubrey felt the brunette run her tongue across her bottom lip and she gladly opened her mouth to invite Staci's tongue. This motion made Aubrey produce a light moan from the back of her throat which appeared to give Staci a new burst of confidence, and the tall brunette released her hands. Staci began running her hands up and down Aubrey's back as she pulled their bodies closer together. The blonde let out another light moan as Staci's hands ran over her ass, producing a warm sensation between her legs.
Suddenly Staci broke their kiss and Aubrey froze, slightly breathless, as she felt her hands being taken again. "Everything okay?" She heard Staci whisper.
"Y-yes…why?" Aubrey stuttered. This was the first time Staci had asked her if things were okay during a make-out session. But Aubrey knew deep down this wasn't just going to be any old make-out session. This would be the final time they ever got to spend time together intimately. And it was likely the time they would spend the night together for the first time. And the last.
"Oh, it's just…you weren't moving. Like…at all."
Aubrey immediately felt guilty. Thinking back it occurred to her that Staci was right, she'd just stood in the one place but not only that she hadn't moved her hands, nor her face. Nothing. She'd just stood there frozen to the spot. But there was a perfectly good explanation for that.
"I…I'm just nervous…that's all." Aubrey quietly admitted.
"We don't have to do anything you don't want to do, you know."
"Oh I know…I do though…I really want to do it. It's just…I've never…been with another woman before so…I don't really know how this works." Aubrey felt like an utter fool for revealing her deepest insecurity at this current moment in time. It was so dark that she couldn't tell what Staci's expression was like but she hoped it was soft, and kind, and that she was smiling but in a nice way and not in a 'what an idiot' kind of way.
"Well…we'll just take things nice and slow," Staci said quietly, squeezing Aubrey's hands in reassurance, "anything you're not comfortable with just say. Anything you find enjoyable...just say."
Good. Great. That was pretty straight forward and not awkward at all. Well…not entirely awkward. "Okay" she whispered, and she felt Staci gently bring her lips back down to hers. The kiss this time was quiet, tender, and more meaningful than any others they had shared before. Staci was kissing her almost like she were a china doll that could crack at any moment. And Aubrey suddenly felt a little less anxious. It didn't matter that she didn't know what she was doing. She'd had sex with three different men in her life so it wasn't like she was a virgin. How different could having sex with a woman be?
Oh how she was about to find out.
…
Beca woke up suddenly with a jump as she heard what sounded like a teaspoon falling on the floor with a clatter. With a furrowed brow she opened her eyes, but the daylight that was sifting through the windows of the Prague apartment almost blinded her and so she clenched them shut again. She groaned, her head feeling heavy, her head throbbing slightly. That was the last time she was going to drink. Ever. And Chloe? God that girl was going to be in ruins today!
Beca brought a hand up with a sigh, rubbing her eyes as she thought back to last night. Or should she say the early hours of this morning. She remembered most of it she thought. She remembered Chloe being sick in the bathroom sink in the bar. She couldn't remember getting her to the bathroom, nor could she remember getting her out of there. But she could remember trying to get her back to the apartment. She remembered at one point Chloe becoming a dead-weight, slumping into a heap on the sidewalk, muttering for Beca to just leave her there until the morning. Something that Beca wasn't going to do, even though the petite brunette was far from strong enough to lift her. If it hadn't been for Fat Amy she would've never got her back to the apartment, the Australian pulling the redhead to her feet and essentially dragging Chloe along like a zombie with Beca supporting Chloe's body as they staggered.
Beca's memory was pretty foggy from then on. She remembered trying to get Chloe to drink some water. Then she remembered getting Chloe to the sofa, in which the redhead insisted she be spooned by her girlfriend. Beca groaned again. It was official. The Bella's knew. They knew that she and Chloe were in a relationship. Chloe had called her her girlfriend in front of them. And Beca had happily settled down to spoon her on the sofa as they both passed out, a bucket having been placed on the floor beside Chloe's head for fear she may be sick again overnight. But that was the extent of Beca's memory. The last thing she remembered was having her arm around Chloe as she breathed heavily beside her on the sofa. But Chloe was no longer laying beside her.
Beca heard footsteps shuffle towards her from the kitchen and once again she opened her eyes, adjusting to the light a little more comfortably now that she had woken. To her surprise she was met by a pair of sparkly blue eyes as her girlfriend beamed at her, holding a tray with what looked like a mug of coffee and two croissants on it. Beca wanted to throw up there and then. Not because of the food. Not because she was hungover. But because she couldn't believe that Chloe was looking so well for someone who had been sat drunk on the sidewalk only a few hours ago!
"Morning!" The redhead sang merrily and Beca groaned, placing a hand over her face, mumbling into the palm, "How are you so cheery?"
"What do you mean?"
Beca reluctantly sat up, slowly, her head swimming slightly as she sighed, "You were in the worst state last night. Like…Chloe, I've never seen you that drunk before. And I've seen you drunk a lot!"
"I wasn't that drunk!" Chloe said sweetly, rolling her eyes slightly as Beca raised her eyebrows, "Oh relax I'm fine now."
"Yeah well I'm not!" Beca responded, slightly annoyed that her girlfriend seemed so fresh and bubbly despite the mess she had been in last night. She groaned again as she sat up properly, bringing her legs around so they hung off the side of the sofa. Before she could say anything more, Chloe placed the tray she had been carrying, on Beca's lap. There was indeed a mug of coffee that Beca took a deep intake of breath to smell, gratefully. And two croissants. One plain, one almond.
Beca smirked, reaching slowly out for the almond croissant. She heard Chloe take a sharp intake of breath and she knew why. Almond croissants were Chloe's absolute favourite pastry. The redhead had clearly been kind enough to put both croissants on the tray, however it had been with the presumption that Beca would have the plain croissant. Beca loved almond croissants. But she loved Chloe more. Damn, it still weirded her out sometimes to think that, but it was true. She did love her more. More than…well, anything! Which was why the brunette looked up at her girlfriend's nervous face and quickly picked up the plain croissant, smiling as she took a bite of it, loving how predictable her best friend was as Chloe's face broke into a smile while she perched next to her on the sofa.
"Ugh I love almond croissants." The redhead muttered happily as she took a bite of the almond croissant and Beca grinned, finishing her first mouthful as she watched how happy her girlfriend looked, "I know. And I love you." Beca said in a quiet voice before she realised that she was speaking out loud. She saw Chloe freeze for a moment, processing what had just been said, before turning to look at the brunette, swallowing her mouthful of almond croissant.
Beca could feel her heart racing. But it had been the truth. She did love her. And sure, they'd been together for less than four weeks on a romantic level. But they'd known each other for six years. They'd lived alone together for two of those six years. And for three other years they'd lived in the same house (albeit with seven other women). They knew each other better than they knew anybody else. Beca didn't believe in soul mates, but if she did she knew that Chloe would be hers and that she would be Chloe's. A soft smile had grown on Chloe's face as she said in a low voice, "I love you too." and Beca felt her heart explode with excitement and joy and love and all the things that the Beca of six years ago would have never imagined ever feeling.
The two women resumed eating their croissants in silence, coy grins on their faces as they glanced at each other from time to time. Beca looked at the clock that hung on the wall opposite them. Four hours until their flight back to New York. Back home. Back to reality. But a new reality. With Chloe.
And there we have it! The final chapter charting the girls while they're on tour!
The following (few?) chapters will act as an epilogue. They will be drabbles and one-shots from the months (and years?) following the happenings of this tour... And I'm excited to write the ideas that I have so far!
As always thank you so much for the reviews! Keep em coming (yes, even you pesky 'guests' haha) xx