A/N: This is a one-shot based off an idea that I wrote about in my story, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" I mentioned that there was a time they pretended to switch bodies and be each other after watching the movie Freaky Friday and drove all of the Bellas nuts. So this is what I was imagining in my head as I was writing memories that Beca and Chloe shared. This was really difficult to write, so I apologize if it's a confusing read. When Beca is pretending to be Chloe, her words will be written in italics. When Chloe is pretending to be Beca, her words will be underlined. The rest of the story will be written regularly.
"Hey Chloe. You know what would be funny?" Beca said one day out of the blue.
"What?" Chloe asked, as she pulled on one of Beca's hoodies that she stole from the younger girl.
"We should pull a prank on the Bellas," Beca replied as she sat on Chloe's bed, swinging her legs freely.
"And how do you propose we do that? You aren't particularly known for your subtlety. You'd probably give it away before we even got to pull the prank!" Chloe said, trying not to dash Beca's hopes, but also trying to be reasonable.
Beca turned to her best friend. "Remember that movie you made me watch the other day?"
Chloe stared at Beca. "I make you watch a lot of movies, Becs. You're gonna have to be more specific."
"You know, the one where the girl and the mom switch bodies? Um. Something like, 'weird day' or whatever."
"Freaky Friday?" Chloe supplied.
"YES! That's it," Beca said, tapping her nose with her finger and then pointing to Chloe. "We should pretend to do that, and see what the Bellas do."
"But Beca, we get along just fine," Chloe said. "The whole point of that movie was to see if the mom and the girl could find a way to relate with each other somehow. We're just about as close as 2 people can be."
"I agree. For example, if you think I didn't notice you stole my hoodie, you'd be totally wrong," Beca said, with a pointed stare.
"It's comfy! And it smells like you!" Chloe protested. "All besties share clothes."
"Well, yeah, but I don't want to wear half the clothes you have," Beca replied with a frown, thinking of all the dresses and multi colored clothes in various prints and styles that Chloe owned. She compared it to her own closet, comprised of mostly black, red and grey flannels, low cut tank tops and skinny jeans. There were a few other pieces, but for the most part, Beca was a creature of habit and stuck with what she knew she liked. Beca wanted to be annoyed with Chloe for having basically 2 wardrobes, but acquiesced, saying "even if I said no to you and took it back, you'd probably steal it again anyway."
Chloe just shrugged, and smiled, knowing that she had won this particular battle. "That's your choice. I personally think you'd look great in pink."
"Okay, moving on," Beca said, trying to get them back on track and also trying to derail any potential future plans Chloe may have to get her to wear bubble gum pink clothing. There were not many things Beca wouldn't do for Chloe, but changing her total badass appearance that she worked so hard to maintain was one of them.
"I don't mean like, to do it as a bonding activity. We obviously do that enough. I just meant like, you pretend to be me, and I pretend to be you. Think of it like an acting exercise," Beca said, knowing Chloe was enjoying her 'Theater and Film Studies' class that she was currently taking.
Chloe still looked skeptical, so Beca plowed on, trying to get the ginger to see her point. "I think we'd be great at it because, as you pointed out, we already know each other so well."
"Ohhh, okay. I get it now," Chloe said, at last understanding what Beca was saying. "I, Chloe, will pretend to be you, Beca. And you are going to pretend to be me. But we're just faking it, to drive the Bellas crazy."
"Finally! She gets it!" Beca said sarcastically.
"That sounds fun!" Chloe exclaimed, totally on board now that the plan made sense to her.
"Wanna do it tomorrow?" Beca asked.
"Sure. We should make a plan though," Chloe said. "I want 100% commitment and laser focus. If we're going to do this, we're going to do this right. Starting with our personalities."
"Ugh. Chloe, why do you have to be so bubbly and cheery all the time?" Beca said, realizing how hard tomorrow was going to be for her.
"Well, it's going to be easy to pretend to be you, Beca. I'll just suck the fun out of everything."
"I do not suck the fun out of everything," Beca objected, lunging for the ginger.
"Fun-sucker," Chloe giggled, darting out of Beca's reach.
"It's not my fault that pretty much everything is stupid and boring," Beca countered, still trying to catch her best friend and tickle Chloe into submission.
"Okay, but seriously. You've really got to sell it. You've got to BE me," Chloe said, trying to get Beca to see how dedicated she was to this new plan.
"Meaning…?" asked Beca wearily. She knew that face. She knew all of Chloe's different facial expressions, but she hated this face in particular. It was Chloe's "I've-got-an-idea-and-you're-probably-not-going-to-like-it-but-you'll-do-it-anyway-because-I'm-me" face. Which was usually followed by Chloe's patented puppy dog face. Which Beca also hated.
"AHHHHH!" A loud and quite shrill scream woke up the entire Bella household.
"WHAT THE HELL?!" Came another piercing yell from the third floor.
Doors could be heard opening and 8 pairs of feet came thundering up the stairs to see what was wrong with the two owners of the noise. Stacie, Fat Amy, Cynthia Rose, Emily, Flo, Lily, Jessica and Ashley all looked at each other. There, standing in the middle of the hallway, were Beca and Chloe. But they didn't look like Beca and Chloe. Something was off.
The Bellas all murmured various phrases of concern, staring with puzzled expressions at the sight before them. Chloe was clad in a blue colored graphic t-shirt with Batman on it and solid black basketball shorts. Beca on the other hand was wearing a matching pink and purple swirled pajama set with fluffy white clouds on top of it. The two girls were in a locked stare with one another, taking in each other's appearance and looking down, randomly touching various parts of their bodies.
Chloe, acting as Beca, grabbed her boobs. "These aren't mine."
Beca, pretending to be Chloe, felt her earrings, and examined her various tattoos. "These aren't mine either…"
Slowly, they looked up at each other and screamed again. The two girls continued with their charade for another minute or so, when they pretended to finally take notice of their housemates.
Upon seeing the girls Beca chirped out an energized, "Good morning guys!"
Chloe just grunted, and scratched the back of her head. "Wassup?" she asked tiredly after a minute, as she turned and looked at the girls who at this point were very confused.
"Am I supposed to follow this?" asked Stacie, looking very alarmed.
"Could you, like, chill for a sec?" Chloe said rudely.
"Chloe, don't be so impolite. A simple, 'can you hold on just a moment please?' would suffice." Beca chided, in her best Chloe impression, throwing a mega-watt smile at the 8 girls looking at her like she belonged in an insane asylum.
Channeling her inner Beca, Chloe said, "Ugh, whatever. It's too early for this shit," and retreated to Beca's room, slamming the door.
Beca, not even bothering to suppress a smile, greeted each Bella individually before retreating to her room, softly closing the door to Chloe's bedroom behind her.
"Okay. What the hell just happened?" asked Cynthia Rose, looking at all the girls surrounding her, as they all stared at the closed doors of the rooms that Beca and Chloe had entered. It did not escape any of them, that they went to each other's rooms.
"Is it just me, or are they being weirder than usual?" Jessica asked, as Ashley nodded her head in agreement.
"They're being weird alright. Even more so than usual," Emily said, looking incredibly concerned for the 2 Bellas that she considered to be her makeshift parental figures.
"In my country, odd behavior means that you are probably infected with Malaria, and you've only got a little bit to live unless you get medicine," Flo supplied unhelpfully.
"Either that or they got bewitched by an angry aboriginal," Fat Amy added.
"I know how to make people turn into animals," Lily whispered.
Chloe and Beca somehow managed to keep up the façade for the entire day. It was a testament to just how well the girls knew each other, because they didn't even have to think about how the other person would react. Chloe thought it was the best improve acting practice she'd ever had.
Beca would say something totally out of character for her, but it would be something Chloe would totally do, and Chloe got to tap in to her 'dark and twisty' side. The only problem Beca had, was enduring hugs. Beca was still Beca, despite pretending to be Chloe, and she was NOT a fan of any type of physical contact.
The hardest part on Chloe's end, was having to tone down the volume and the affection. She had to pretend to not get excited any time that something happened, which was especially difficult when the Bellas saw a puppy on the quad.
By the time evening rolled around, all of the Bellas were truly annoyed, and still as clueless as to why the two co-captains were acting so weird. When it was brought up at the dinner table, Beca and Chloe both feigned ignorance.
"What are you talking about, you weirdo?" asked Chloe.
"Yeah, I'm with Chloe. I don't think I really know what you're talking about. Everything is fine. Do you feel okay?" Beca said, trying not to break out in laughter at the expressions on all of the people staring back at her.
"Okay Shawshank, cut the shit. What's going on?" Fat Amy finally demanded.
"It's nothing," Chloe and Beca said at the same time.
"Doesn't seem like 'nothing' to me," Stacie said, narrowing her eyes. "Now spill."
"Really, everything is normal. I don't get why everyone is acting so weird today," Beca said.
"You just seem, different, that's all. Did something happen to you, that we don't know about?" asked Emily carefully as to not piss anyone off.
"Trust me, you don't wanna know," Chloe said in her moodiest voice.
The Bellas all voiced their disagreement to that statement, claiming that 'yes they actually DID want to know' but Beca and Chloe would not give in. They kept it going all the way until movie night. The Bellas waited with baited breath, thinking that Beca would surely crack. To their surprise, not only did Beca make the popcorn so it was ready for movie night, she also asked to pick out the movie, something that Chloe usually did. The two girls then proceeded to sit on their usual couch, but on opposite sides than normal. Then, Beca curled up next to Chloe, who tried to shove Beca off of her. "What are you doing, nerd?" she demanded.
"Oh hush, you love it," Beca said, planting a kiss on Chloe's cheek with a loud smack. "Will you pass me some popcorn?"
The Bellas all just stared.
"Quit staring at us. The movie is starting," announced Chloe. "The sooner this thing is over, the better. I could be making mixes right now…"
The girls all just turned their attention to the television, not even bothering to question the odd behavior that Beca and Chloe were displaying. Once the movie finished, Chloe bolted upstairs, claiming that 'the stupid movie was a waste of time', and that she had to immediately make up for it by making a mix in her room and not to disturb her if you valued your life.
Beca stayed behind, cleaning up all of the snacks and putting all of the dirty dishes in the sink to be washed later. When she completed her tasks, she bade each Bella goodnight, distributed the classic 'Chloe hug' and retreated up the stairs. Once Beca got upstairs, she went into her bedroom, where Chloe was waiting for her. Chloe was situated at Beca's desk, looking intently at her computer, with Beca's headphones planted firmly on top of her head. She was humming quietly, and nodding her head to the music coming through the speakers.
Beca walked up behind her best friend and wrapped her arms around Chloe's shoulders. She sighed, and nuzzled into Chloe's neck. "Hey," she whispered, after she gently removed her headphones off of her best friends head.
"Hey loser," Chloe said, teasingly as she turned to face Beca. "You know we don't have to pretend to be each other anymore. The day is over, and there are no Bellas around."
"I know," Beca said, "I just wanted to hug you."
"Who are you, and what have you done to Beca Mitchell?" Chloe demanded.
"She's still here. Maybe just a bit nicer," was the reply.
"You've always been a softie at heart," Chloe agreed.
"Shut your face, Beale," Beca snapped. "I'm a badass."
"And she's back," chuckled Chloe as she grabbed Beca and pulled her in for a hug.
The next morning at breakfast Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia Rose, Fat Amy, Stacie, Emily, Flo and Lily all woke up early, curious to see what would happen that day. When they got to the kitchen, they found that Chloe was already up, eating a bowl of cereal and reading the paper. She was dressed in her normal clothes, and had her hair in its usual wavy curls.
"Good morning guys!" Chloe said happily, "how did you all sleep?"
The girls all looked at her like she was crazy, but didn't say anything. Finally, after a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Jessica replied. "Umm. Fine. How did you sleep?"
As Chloe was about to respond, a sleepy brunette stumbled her way into the kitchen. She didn't even acknowledge the other people in the room, solely focused on getting as much caffeine that she could, put in to her body as fast as possible. Once she had her beverage and breathed in the scent of her freshly brewed coffee, she let out a satisfied sigh. Looking up, she saw 18 eyes staring at her.
"What? Do I have something on my shirt again? I swear, this one was clean…" Beca said, looking down at her red and black striped t-shirt.
The Bellas were completely thrown for a loop. Did no-one else notice their odd behaviors yesterday but them?
"Beca?" asked Stacie hesitantly.
"What do you want, Legs?" Beca asked bluntly.
"Nothing. Just checking to see that it was you."
"You're being ridiculous, Stace. Who else would I be?" Beca asked, pretending like nothing had happened the previous day that would make her behavior do a complete 180.
"Hey Red?" tried Cynthia Rose. "You good?"
"Of course! I always am, aren't I?" responded Chloe, also pretending like nothing was out of the ordinary.
"Did you get whacked on the head yesterday? 'Cuz I swear to god, something was weird with you two," demanded Fat Amy, not one to beat around the bush.
"I don't know what you're talking about," denied Beca, as Chloe voiced her agreement to Beca's statement.
"Yeah guys, we're totes fine. Are you sure you're okay? You all are acting really strange," said Chloe.
"Yeah, cut it out, ya weirdos. You're creeping me out," added Beca.
"Well, yesterday…" The Bellas all started talking at once, claiming that Beca and Chloe were being the insane ones, and that they had no idea what was going on. After about 5 minutes of presented evidence, the Bellas still didn't know up from down, but in fact, were even more confused than they were already.
"That's absurd," Beca said, referring to Ashley's claim that someone put a spell on them. "There is no way in hell that could happen."
"Exactly," Chloe chimed in, "Nobody is bewitched or anything. I think you all just need to calm down and get real for a second."
"But Beca hugged me," Emily protested to Chloe. "She would never do that in her right mind. She only hugs you, and that's because you hug her first. It's like she was you!"
Chloe shrugged, "Stranger things have been known to happen."
"Well, whatever it was, I think we all just need to move on. You can't seriously think that I was Chloe, can you?" Beca asked. "And don't think I didn't notice all of you were acting strangely yesterday either."
While only Beca and Chloe knew the truth, the Bellas could all agree that it was a freaky day.