Hey guys! I had this idea for a story and immediately started writing it, it was supposed to be a oneshot but when I saw how long it was, I decided to turn it into a short story. Set post PP3, hope you like it!

Chapter One - How to Save A Life

Step one, you say 'we need to talk'
He walks, you say 'sit down, it's just a talk'
He smiles politely back at you
You stare politely right on through
Some sort of window to your right
As he goes left and you stay right
Between the lines of fear and blame
You begin to wonder why you came

As the song ended and applause erupted from the crowd, Beca turned around to her sisters and Chloe was the first one she hugged, the others joining in their group hug, a few shedding tears, the small brunette included.

She'd come a very long way since 2012, she opened up, made friends, proved she was actually a softie at heart, graduated against all odds and didn't move to LA like she'd made clear she was dying to.

No, she moved to New York with Amy and Chloe to share a ridiculously small apartment in Brooklyn, which she didn't seem to mind.

After her performance, Beca was standing alone, thinking about everything that just happened and about the years before. She looked deep in thought until Theo approached her. It looked like he was thinking something was going to happen between the two but Beca scrunched up her face and denied his advance. She was his boss now, after all.

She couldn't ignore how Chloe went after Chicago and grabbed him by the collar and kissed him. Beca crossed her arms and tried to think of anything else.

"So I'm your boss now," she said to Theo as she turned and walked away from Chloe and Chicago.

Beca had years of practice, she considered her faking very good. Which is why she decided to retire to her hotel room. She had way too much faking, she didn't want to pretend it didn't hurt her anymore. She had been lost in the competition and the tour and the performance, she forgot about how she was supposed to tell Chloe how she felt. How she'd always felt.

And now she lost her chance.

Deciding she no longer wanted to pretend, to swallow the pain of not having the girl of her dreams, to smile even though it killed her, she packed her bags, allowing the tears that had been there since day 1 to finally fall freely from her face as she grabbed her belongings.

Beca decided that day would be the end of her faking and she would finally do what was best for her, what she should've done all those years ago.

Move on.

That's how she decided the airport was her destination.

oO0Oo

Where did I go wrong?
I lost a friend
Somewhere along the bitterness
And I would have stayed up
With you all night had I known
How to save a life

Chloe was ecstatic, she tried to find Beca but she couldn't, the crowd was too thick and she was getting overwhelmed. She found Aubrey talking to her father and Amy and hurried to their side.

"Guys!" she said. "Hi Mr. Posen,"

The man in question smiled at her before she addressed her two blonde friends.

"Guys has anyone seen Beca?" she asked. "I can't find her,"

"I saw her talking to Theo a few minutes ago," Aubrey said.

Chloe nodded and turned around to go find Theo. The British man was now talking to the girls from Evermoist.

"Theo!" Chloe called his attention. "Have you seen Beca?"

"Yeah, she left," Theo said.

"What? Left? Where did she go?" Chloe was confused.

"I don't know, she just left," Theo said.

Chloe frowned and Theo rejoined his conversation. She went back to Amy and Aubrey.

"Guys, Theo said Beca left," she said.

"Did she go back to the hotel?" Aubrey asked.

"I don't know, but that's an option," Chloe said.

"She's probably tired," Amy tried.

"Yeah, I don't know," Chloe said. "I wanted to talk to her, to congratulate her,"

"Maybe she'll be back," Aubrey said. "And if not, later I'll go back to her hotel room with you to find her,"

Chloe nodded, feeling a little more at ease. She didn't feel completely happy the rest of the night not knowing where her best friend was. Beca didn't come back like Aubrey suggested.

So when the Bellas all went back to the hotel, Chloe grabbed Aubrey and they both headed to Beca's room, knocking on the door. They waited before knocking again and there was no answer.

"Where could she be?" Chloe wondered out loud.

A maid came from down the hall and stopped behind the girls.

"Excuse me?" she said with a heavy French accent.

The two girls stepped aside and she opened the room with her key, pushing the cart inside.

Chloe took the opportunity and looked inside, to see the bed was made and the room was completely empty. She frowned in confusion and looked at her blonde friend.

"Where did she go? Her stuff is all gone," Chloe said.

"That's weird," Aubrey said.

Chloe bit her lip nervously, she looked at nowhere in particular as she looked deep in thought.

"I'll try FaceTiming her," Chloe fished her phone out of her pocket and they walked down the hall back to their own rooms as the phone rang. And it rang and it rang before the call was off. Chloe tried again and this time it didn't even ring. She frowned.

"Do you think something happened?" Chloe asked.

"I don't know, we could ask at the front desk in the lobby," Aubrey suggested.

Chloe nodded and they hurried downstairs to the lobby.

"Hi, remember us? One of my friends, Beca, isn't in her room, she has brown hair, she's short, she was wearing a golden jacket and a skirt, have you seen her?" Chloe asked the clerk.

"Yes, I was in charge of her check out," he said.

"Where did she go? Did she say anything?" Aubrey asked.

"She asked me to call a cab to the airport," the man said.

The two friends looked at each other.

"She looked upset, she was crying," the man added.

"Shit," Aubrey said.

Chloe looked at her suspiciously. She then smiled at the man behind the front desk and grabbed Aubrey by the arm, taking her out of his earshot.

"Do you know something?" she asked.

"I don't know for sure but I can think of a reason Beca might've left," Aubrey said.

"What? Why? How do you know?" Chloe asked.

"I saw you kiss Chicago," Aubrey said. "And I think Beca might have, too,"

"Okay, so?" Chloe asked.

Aubrey sighed.

"Chlo, you know I love you but sometimes you might be a little dense," Aubrey said. "During all these years, I wasn't sure but after you guys graduated it became clear Beca had a thing for you, it was obvious, the way she looked at you,"

"Beca didn't have a thing for me," Chloe crossed her arms.

"Listen," Aubrey continued, "She'd always been talking about going off to LA to produce music but what did she do after graduation? Move to New York to live with you and Amy to a job she didn't like to live in a small apartment and share a bed with you,"

"That doesn't mean anything," Chloe said defensively.

"She broke up with Jesse and followed you, she could've gone with him to LA to live with him but she chose you!" Aubrey said. "You're the only person who can get away with hugging her, cuddling with her, getting in her personal space and she doesn't mind it!"

"Still," Chloe was getting quieter.

"I'm telling you, Chloe, she likes you," Aubrey said. "The way she looks at you when she thinks nobody else is watching is one of pure love."

Chloe was quiet this time.

"She might've been planning on telling you," Aubrey said.

"But she didn't," Chloe said.

"I know," Aubrey said. "But if she saw you kissing Chicago, she might've felt bad and decided to leave,"

"Aubrey, please don't tell me it's my fault she left, okay? Don't tell me this is all my fault, don't you dare say that to me right now," Chloe said as she cried. Aubrey shushed her gently and pulled her into a warm hug.

"Shh, it's not your fault, that's not what I meant," Aubrey said. "Tomorrow morning we'll figure this out first thing, okay?"

Chloe nodded.

"If you want, I'll go to New York with you to talk to Beca," Aubrey said.

Chloe nodded again and wiped her nose with the back of her hand, saying nothing else. Aubrey wrapped an arm around her shoulders and walked her back to her room. She then went to hers deep in thought, hoping this would all figure itself out.

oO0Oo

The two girls didn't get a flight out to New York until the evening, so they spent the day with the Bellas, trying to distract themselves. Chloe still tried to text Beca or even call her but there was no answer.

That evening, Aubrey offered to go with Chloe to New York, seeing the level of anxiety the redhead was feeling. She needed to make her see Beca was okay and she probably just needed a break.

When they made it to Chloe's apartment, part of it was empty. Beca's clothes were no longer there and all her stuff was gone. That made Chloe gasp and cry almost hysterically. If she wasn't in New York, they had no idea where she could be.

"Excuse me?"

Aubrey turned to see an old woman standing in the hall.

"Hi Mrs. Turner," Chloe said, wiping her tears. "Have you seen Beca?"

"She left a few minutes ago, she asked me to give you this," Mrs. Turner handed her Beca's keys.

"She left? Do you know where she went?" Aubrey asked.

"She seemed to be in a hurry, she told me she had to be in the airport," Mrs. Turner said.

"Which airport?" Aubrey asked.

"Newark," Mrs. Turner frowned as the girls left in a hurry, closing the door, thanking her in the way.

Chloe's leg was bouncing the entire ride to Newark Airport. Aubrey didn't even try to calm her down, they had no idea where Beca was going off to, which was her gate or anything, they would be extremely lucky if they happened to run into her.

As the cab stopped, Chloe almost literally jumped out, running inside, Aubrey hurried to catch up with her.

Chloe headed straight to departures and to the TSA line, hoping Beca would be waiting. Aubrey got there a few seconds after Chloe and looked through the glass for the familiar brunette.

"There she is!" Aubrey pointed out. "Beca!"

"Beca!" Chloe called out.

The girls yelled and yelled Beca's name but the girl never turned. Before she disappeared inside, though, her right side faced the glass and they saw one, she had her big headphones on and two, her face was red and swollen, probably from crying.

Chloe fell to her knees, clutching her chest, crying hysterically. Aubrey knelt next to her and hugged her, trying to calm her down, but was crying too.

The brunette got away.