Beca and Chloe place bets on the Super Bowl.
Beca was working on a mix in her bedroom when a flurry of fiery red hair burst through the door. She was in the middle of figuring out how to make the bass line mix with the bridge between two songs when Chloe's mouth started moving animatedly.
"Tom invited me to go to the Knights vs. Tigers football game with him and his buddies on Saturday, since we couldn't go to the movies a while back!" she said excitedly, although her words were slightly muffled due to the music.
"Yay. Good for you," Beca said absentmindedly, as she concentrated on her laptop. Since she couldn't really hear what Chloe was saying over her Beats headphones, she didn't exactly know what she had said but Chloe looked happy, so Beca assumed it was fine.
"Really?" asked Chloe skeptically. "You're fine with that?"
"Um. Sure," Beca said, saving her mix and finally pulling off her headphones to rest around her neck.
"Well, if you're positive it's alright with you, I guess I'll text him back and say yes."
"Wait. Hold up," Beca said, suddenly very invested in the conversation. "Who are you texting and where are you going with him?"
"Tom… and to the football game on Saturday that he invited me to," Chloe said slowly.
"But. Why?" Beca asked bluntly, confused and a secretly little jealous. "I thought you two were over."
"We are. But we're still friends."
"Okay, like that's a thing that happens," Beca scoffed.
"If it's going to upset you, I won't go," Chloe said. "Or you could come too," she suggested.
"No, it's fine," Beca said hurriedly, feeling a bit like a dick for being rude to Chloe. "You can go. I hate sports."
"Playing them or watching them?" Chloe asked.
"Both. You know how much I hate exercise and get bored easily. But regardless, I don't really know anything about football anyway," Beca returned.
"Even more reason to join! I'll text Tom to get an extra ticket for you," Chloe said, choosing to ignore the bewildered expression Beca was shooting her for blatantly ignoring her previous statement. Even with seeing the less than thrilled look on Beca's face, Chloe plowed on, committed to getting her girlfriend to join. "You won't have to sit by him or talk to anyone or do anything if you don't want to. And there's food. And alcohol. And you can judge everyone around you for looking super ridiculous."
Beca started to look interested, so Chloe kept on trying to sell it. "You get to yell and cuss at bad plays too."
"Okay, I guess," Beca said reluctantly. "You've convinced me. Where are the seats? I don't want smelly bodies touching mine."
"We'll be in actual seats, not in the student section, so you don't have to worry about people in your space. Or not being able to see anything," she teased, not being able to resist.
"Hey!" Beca interjected. "No short jokes, Beale."
Saturday came all too fast for Beca's liking, but Chloe was excited, so she tried her best to not let her bad mood project onto her.
"You ready for this Becs?" asked Chloe, as she painted on some black streaks underneath her eyes. She was wearing a Barden Knights jersey tied in a knot at the side, and a pair of some of the shortest shorts Beca had ever seen. Chloe's wavy hair was pulled back into 2 low pony tails and she was wearing a trucker hat backwards with a pair of black sunglasses perched on top. Personally, Beca thought she looked very hot, but refrained from comment. As for Beca, she was wearing her usual black pants and a low cut tank top with her flannel tied around her waist. She also had a pair of sunglasses on, and looked a few shades whiter than usual due to the copious amount of sunscreen she had applied.
"Born ready," Beca replied sarcastically. "Remind me again why it's 10am and we're leaving the house already when the football game isn't until 5pm?"
"We're going tailgating, silly!"
"Oh, yeah. That. Sounds fun?" Beca said, voice raising up at the end like it was more of a question than a statement.
"You'll love it. Trust me," Chloe said.
To say Beca enjoyed it, would be a major understatement. By the time the people attending the game starting to file in, Beca was quite the happy little camper, probably due to the free food and drinks they had and the good music that was playing. She actually socialized a little bit with the other people in the group, even Tom. However, Beca still stayed glued close to Chloe's side the whole day. To Chloe's credit, she didn't say anything or really seem to mind a clingy Beca, who usually shied away from all forms of human contact. As they walked into the stadium, Beca started to feel excited, as if the energy of the crowd was infusing itself in her body. By the time the group reached their seats, Beca was practically buzzing.
When the football game began, Beca originally tried to understand what Chloe was talking about. The words 'first down', 'field goal', 'touch down', 'sack', 'safety', 'false start' and 'off-sides', all jumbled up in her mind, no matter how attentively she listened, so she gave up quite quickly. Because of this, Beca had no idea what was happening, so she decided to just go along with the flow of the crowd. Instead of making a fool of herself, she copied her surroundings. When the people wearing her school colors cheered, she did too, and when they booed, she got inexplicably mad as well. During one particularly bad call, Beca got so mad she actually stood up and shouted something nobody was able to understand due to everyone yelling around her. Chloe looked at her girlfriend becoming so invested at something she didn't even understand and just laughed.
When halftime came and everybody started to get up, Beca said, "Well that was fun. Ready to go home?"
Chloe pulled Beca back down and said, "It's halftime. We still have 2 more quarters to go."
"Seriously? Jesus fuck. This thing has gone on forever," Beca scowled, "I'm hungry."
"Here's $20, go get something to eat."
"Thanks MOM," Beca joked.
Chloe smacked Beca's butt as she walked away, and Beca flipped her the bird as she maneuvered her way through the various crowds of people. When she returned, she had balanced a large pile of food in her arms and was carrying a large soda pop in her hand.
"Can I get a little help here Chlo?" she said, nodding her head to everything she was currently in possession of.
"Damn Beca. Did you buy out the whole concession stand?"
"Ha ha. Very funny. But no, I just couldn't make up my mind so I got a bit of everything that looked good. I figured we could share."
"How sweet, thanks!" Chloe cooed, pecking Beca on the lips.
Although she was blushing furiously, Beca looked quite proud of herself. As they ate their food, Chloe turned and talked to the other friends who had come with them to the game. Seeing that her girlfriend was occupied, Beca chose to look up a very basic crash course about football on her phone. She still didn't quite get everything, but at least she knew a bit more than she did. She found being able to read the principles of football was easier than trying to hear someone yelling to be heard over the crowd and trying to explain about a play after it already happened.
When "Thunderstruck" by AC/DC sounded to signal the start of the second half, Beca put her phone away, and was prepared to watch the game with a slightly better understanding of the logistics. Her research paid off when the opposing Tigers made a late hit on one of the BU Knights who was passing the ball to a teammate. There was a flag on the play and for the first time since the game started, Beca thought she understood what was going on.
"That's unnecessary roughness. 15 yard penalty and automatic first down," Beca muttered to herself quietly. Apparently it wasn't quite quiet enough though, because somehow even amidst all the atmospheric noise Chloe could hear—or at least see—her speaking something.
"What'd you say Beca?"
"Umm. Isn't that a penalty?" Beca replied, feeling less confident in her response. "And uh, it's called unnecessary roughness, right?"
Chloe opened her mouth to respond when she was interrupted with a loud whistle. Just then, the referee's voice boomed across the stadium, "Personal foul. Defense number 47. 15 yard penalty. Repeat first down." Chloe looked at her girlfriend with a shocked expression. Beca could only give a sheepish smile in response.
"Wow Mitchell, I'm impressed. I thought you didn't know football."
"I did some research during half-time," the brunette admitted, not wanting to make it sound like she put any effort or thought into the act, lest she lose her 'I don't give a shit about anything' badass points.
Chloe looked at her girlfriend fondly and said, "Well, you did good. I'm proud of you."
Beca returned the smile, and they both turned to continue watching the game. There were a few close calls, but the Knights held on to win the game, 43-36. As the girls said their goodbyes and began their walk back to the Bellas house, Beca couldn't help but admit to herself that she actually had a good time.
"Well," Chloe began carefully. "How awful was it?"
"Not too bad. Better than I expected anyway," Beca began, "but I'm a bit mad."
"Why?" asked Chloe. "We won and you looked like you were having at least a little fun."
"Yeah," Beca said. "But it was very loud there, and my ears are still ringing. I think I'm probably gonna go deaf and I need my ears to mix, so if you messed that up for me…" she trailed off, pretending to be mad.
"Oh stop. You had fun," Chloe chided.
"Yeah, I guess it was okay. It would've sucked more if you weren't there."
"Aww. You're cute," Chloe said, trying to pinch Beca's cheek.
"I'm not cute. I'm badass. How many times do I have to tell you?" Beca said exasperatedly, as she squirmed away out of Chloe's reach. Chloe just laughed and grabbed Beca's hand, swinging their joined between the two of them.
Beca was exhausted by the time they reached the Bellas house. Don't get her wrong, it was fun. But a person can only handle so much. Especially for someone who prefers the solitude of her room and who's best friend (aside from Chloe) was her computer. Beca couldn't help but think there was something magical about the time she had spent with the ginger that day, but she couldn't quite pinpoint what it was. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the game. Maybe it was heat stroke. Maybe it was just the intoxicating effect of Chloe. Yeah, it was probably Chloe. But whatever it was, Beca found she didn't want the night to end. As they climbed up the porch stairs, she turned to Chloe and said, "Thanks for inviting me. I had a lot of fun with you today. And I don't hate sports… as much."
"Thanks for coming," Chloe said. "I know you don't always like the things I drag you to, so I'm glad you had fun."
"I don't always like what we do, but I always enjoy the time we get to spend together."
"You're sweet," Chloe said as she unlocked the front door and they walked inside the house. That's how Chloe knew Beca was really tired. Beca was usually never that honest or mushy when she was totally alert. "Now get some rest. You look like you're about to pass out." Once the two girls finished their nightly routines in their shared room, they both climbed into Beca's bed to cuddle before bed. Granted, they did have their own respective beds, but almost inevitably one of them would end up in the other's beds and they no longer questioned it. Even before they started dating, they were always close. As they lay together in the dark, Beca thought about how lucky she was to have such an understanding and caring girlfriend who knew just how far to push her out of her comfort zone so she could explore new things, but not to the point that she would get upset.
"Goodnight Chlo," Beca said sleepily, hugging the ginger a bit closer to her chest.
"Night Becs. Sleep well," Chloe returned, planting a kiss on Beca's forehead.
"Hey babe," Chloe said a few months later, looking up from her phone at her girlfriend. My brother Mike is holding a Super Bowl watch party. Wanna go?"
Beca's eyes lit up excitedly. Since attending her first football game with Chloe at the beginning of the fall semester, she had attended every game that she could for the rest of the season. The BU Knights didn't make it to the championship round, but they put in a good effort and Beca found herself being able to follow along easier as each game went by. By the end of the season, she was right up there with the best of the best when it came to calling plays.
Beca had even been known to argue with a few frat boys who didn't think a 5'2" girl would know anything about football. Beca knew her girlfriend would be mad if she punched someone, so she instead fought her battles with logic. When Beca turned out to be right, which was usually always, she would simply laugh in their faces before turning around with a victorious smile.
"Sure!" said Beca, looking very happy. "As long as they'll have food and booze. 'Cuz, you know, I love food. And booze."
"I'm sure there will be," assured Chloe. "It's a Super Bowl party hosted by my brother. Why wouldn't it?" To say Michael Beale's football watch parties were legendary would be a huge understatement.
"Wanna place any bets?"
"Sure. I think the Patriots are gonna stomp all over your Falcons," Beca said viciously.
"Why? What makes you think that?" asked Chloe.
"Um. Because I'm from Maine. Gotta represent New England. Duh."
"Well, we live in Georgia, so I think we should cheer on our home team," said Chloe stubbornly.
"Do what you want, but when they lose, you have to do my share of the Bellas housework for a week," stated Beca.
"Well, when I win," Chloe confidently stated, "You have to go on an outing of my choice with me. No complaints or whining."
"Whatever. Me and Tom are gonna enjoy our break from chores."
"Tom?" asked Chloe curiously.
"Brady. He's the quarterback. He's been in 7 Super Bowls and he's why your Falcons are gonna lose," Beca said, while Chloe just stared at her girlfriend.
"You follow NFL stats now? Who are you and what have you done with my girlfriend?"
"I'm still me, I just know more. Which is why I know the Falcons are going to lose."
"The Falcons have to be good if they made the playoffs," Chloe said, not so sure she should've made the bet against Beca.
"Well, yeah. But the Patriots are just better at everything. The Falcons have never won a Super Bowl and they're not going to win this time either. Besides that, the Patriots have a better winning record over all this season," said Beca casually.
"We'll see about that," said Chloe, still shocked at her girlfriends seemingly extensive knowledge of the sport.
The Beale household was divided. With a 21-3 halftime lead, Chloe was feeling pretty confident and turned to Beca. "Better get ready to be dragged all over town next week," she said.
"It's not over 'til it's over," was Beca's reply.
Beca, was once again right about football. The Patriots managed to overcome a 25 point deficit midway through the third quarter. Then after getting a few touch downs and a two point conversion, it was tied 28-28 and so the game was going into overtime. The Patriots called heads and won the call. Beca was sitting on the couch with her arms tucked under her chin saying, "choose the ball, choose the ball." As play resumed, Beca had no idea how she would handle the next 15 minutes of play time. Beca could feel herself starting to get stressed out, but didn't know why. She wasn't the one playing, and all she had to do if she lost was go on a date with Chloe. Nothing to lose, really.
But as it turns out, Beca had nothing to stress about. About 4 minutes into overtime, the Patriots were on a second and goal and somehow a player got through Atlanta's defense to score. As a result, partly due to close calls and some bad plays from both sides, the New England Patriots held on to win Super Bowl LI 34-28 in overtime.
"YES!" screeched Beca excitedly as she danced around the living room. "James White is my hero! Way to go #28!" Chloe was just as excited at the amazing Super Bowl ending as Beca was. Even though Chloe technically lost the bet, she was happy because her girlfriend was happy. After all, having a happy, social and fun loving Beca was pretty much one of Chloe's main goals in life. Even if that meant emptying the trash and doing the dishes for a week.
A/N: This is set after Beca and Chloe get together. I know the regular college football season is about August through November-ish, and the Super Bowl is usually in January/February, but I'm combining the two, with a small time jump.