A/N: Just a quick update because I'll be working on some Bechloe Halloween Specials. Hope you check them out next week. :)
CHAPTER 3
They meet at the Highland Coffeebar nearby the Chelsea Piers and have coffee and light snacks. A strong, caramel-smelling scent opens her senses when they enter the establishment. Soft music is playing in the background, and the atmosphere is cozy and vintage, with a rustic wooden, dark leathery, over-stuffed, and comfy furniture style.
They are seated at the far back of the establishment in a comfy niche, catching up on their lives and covering most of the significant events that led them to where they are now.
Beca explains that she accepted the job offer and relocated to NYC, but since she couldn't afford an apartment on her own, she asked Luke—her boyfriend of two years—to move in with her on the spot. He quit his job at the radio station, got a job as a DJ in a New Yorker nightclub, and mainly worked at night. Sometimes he'd be hired to perform music at events and would be gone for days at a time.
Since Beca sometimes worked from home, she decided to get a pet to keep her company. She went to the shelter to get one and ultimately fell in love with the white-grey furball, despite Luke's objection to the idea of keeping pets. And the cat doesn't seem to like him, seeing him as an intruder in her territory. Chloe muses that maybe Bella was probably not used to male company. Overcome with jealousy, Bella would hiss at him to protect her owner, scratch him, and run away if he came near her to pet her.
"Bella needs to be with him more. Give her a used shirt to sniff while he's not around," Chloe suggests. "And if he occasionally feeds her, it'll work faster." She cares about Bella's well-being and wants her to be happy with the person Beca chooses to spend her life with, which is the driving force behind her statement.
"Yeah, I googled that early on," Beca tells her with a sigh, sounding frustrated with the situation, "Had to get a new shirt for him since she destroyed it."
"Perhaps Bella is jealous of your interpersonal relationships in general," Chloe says lightly, shrugs her shoulders, and then chomps down on a French fry.
"You're a cat psychologist now?"
Chloe laughs. "In fact, animal behavior is an essential part of the veterinary curriculum." While tracing her finger over the rim of her coffee mug, she attempts to seem smart and interesting. "I mean, I know the basics." Okay, maybe it's too soon to tease Beca like that. They used to do this sort of friendly flirting a lot back in college. And it usually made Beca blush, which was always cute.
"Really? And what can you tell me about my kitty?" Beca inquires nonchalantly, smirking as she stares into Chloe's eyes. Chloe blinks, feeling dazzled; she can't tell whether Beca is teasing her back or if she's really interested in the topic at hand.
But then she opts for professionalism rather than friendly teasing. "Maybe if you'll let me pet it, I can make a more adequate assessment," she says, keeping a straight face. Okay, that was the last innuendo. Now, for real.
"We're still talking about Bella, right?" Beca asks, looking amused.
They laugh so hard that it hurts their stomachs. So, Beca did remember their lighthearted teasing...
They talk about college. Especially after Chloe had left the group. Chloe is curious about the after-victory party and whether The Trebles were given a good dose of their own medicine. Beca quickly changes the subject after claiming she did not attend the party. Without more probing, Chloe nods her head.
"So, are you going to kill me now?" Chloe asks, trying to lighten up the mood again. She sips her coffee and watches Beca with a raised eyebrow.
"What? Why?"
"Because you said you'd come after me," Chloe says, "it sounded like a threat."
"Yeah, but still trying to figure out how to make you disappear without leaving a trace," Beca remarks with a wicked grin.
After an hour of chatting, laughing, and having fun while reminiscing about their a cappella lives back in college, Chloe tells her, "Beca, I'm glad you kept your promise to win every title. When I learned of your accomplishments, I felt nothing but joy and pride." She smiles.
Beca blushes and averts her eyes to her latte macchiato. Then her eyes darkened.
"You should have seen our performances, dude," she says, "but, like… you never answered my calls or returned them."
That was like being stabbed deep in the heart. Or a gut-punch as her lungs expand. Chloe casts her gaze downward, flinching as she fights back tears.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean…" she says gently, "God, I'm an insensitive jerk, Chloe. You know me."
Chloe blinks the tears away before they could fall. She didn't want to cry. Naturally, she feels awful about letting herself get estranged from her friends; she regrets not keeping in closer touch with them and never visiting them. Beca will someday understand why Chloe fell out of touch, but right now, she is not yet comfortable talking about her past. Not here. And not like this. She hopes to start over quickly with Beca and doesn't want her dark past to put her off. And the real reasons behind all this.
Beca moves up and bumps her with her shoulders.
"I'm sorry, Chlo."
"It's fine, Beca. You didn't say anything wrong."
Despite her distress, Chloe manages to maintain her bright demeanor. Beca's dark blue eyes scrutinize her face as if she cared enough to try to understand or read her mind. She is so close to her that Chloe can discern every distinction in her irises and feel the heat radiating from her body. Beca is in her life again.
"I'm fine. You're here now."
*,*,*
After a few weeks, they didn't miss a single day of seeing, texting, or calling each other. They often went on driving across town, engaged in enjoyable activities, and discussed their day's events. Not wanting to miss out on anything again. The almost five years that had gone by may as well not have happened at all. Since Chloe's graduation from college, they just picked up right where they had left off in their friendship.
On a weekend when Chloe had already done advanced learning for her exams, she accepted Beca's invitation to dinner at her place. Luke is out of town at an event where he'd play his music, though it was Beca who composed the songs.
The couple lives in an elevator-accessible high-rise where they occupy a small apartment on the eighth floor. The apartment's interior is contemporary and airy, with minimal furnishings and decorations. There are mixing boards, musical instruments, records on shelves, and posters on the walls instead of picture frames. That's how Chloe pictured a shared apartment of a couple in the music business.
While waiting for their dinner to finish cooking in the oven, they relax on the couch and share a bottle of wine. They talk about Chloe's work at the small animal clinic and the cute pets she gets to treat. Then Beca talks about her work and the demanding clients she has to deal with, which she doesn't find "cute" at all. They laugh together.
From one of the rooms, Bella appears. It seems like she has just woken up from a nap and come to see what all the ruckus is about.
"Hey, Bella," she greets the feline. "Don't worry. I'm not here to pester you with injections." The cat carefully sniffs the back of Chloe's hand before rubbing her face against it while purring. Bella jumps onto the sofa, paws at Chloe's lap, and eventually settles down, gazing up at her with her big, green eyes. Chloe scratches the cat's chin.
"I don't get it," Beca exclaims, throwing her arms around, "it's your first time here. Why does she like you? I had a colleague over once, and Bella hissed at her."
"Maybe she remembers me from the clinic," Chloe quips as she strokes the purring cat's head and laughs. Yet she's well aware that animals lack human-level memory. There's a chance that Bella may just recognize her scent.
"She scratched the other vet student last time. And last Monday, she sneak-attacked Luke's ankle when he kissed me."
"Maybe she thought you were being attacked," Chloe states with a shrug, chuckling at the thought, "and she wanted to protect you. I'm sure she'd attack me if she saw me hugging you, too. It could be maternal instinct, though she's not even a year old and–" she rambles thoughtfully.
"Can we try?"
"Try what?" Chloe looks up from the cat on her lap to Beca.
"You hugging me."
"You want to provoke your own pet intentionally?" Chloe exclaims with a melodramatic gasp.
Beca rolls her eyes. "Then, what's her issue with Luke? Or with other people?"
Bella is cleaning her paw on Chloe's lap when Beca gently lifts her, kisses her head, and places her on the floor in front of them. Turning back to Chloe, she raises her arms sideways, expecting an embrace, and stares at her eagerly.
"Beca, this is stupid." But to be honest, she doesn't want the cat to hate her. It's always a good feeling when an animal feels safe with her.
"Just do it," Beca says quietly through a forced smile, not wanting Bella to hear.
Chloe, rolling her eyes, heaves a long sigh. "If she attacks me, then it's you I won't forgive."
She leans forward, encircling her arms around Beca's neck, her chin resting on Beca's shoulder. Beca returns the embrace awkwardly but eventually places her hands on Chloe's back to pull her closer.
They remain still for a moment.
Chloe tilts her head sideways to ask in Beca's ear, "What is she doing now? Is she about to attack me?" She tries not to move too much and can't see what the cat is doing behind her.
"She's watching you. Wait…." Beca roams her hands along the length of her back, down to her waist, and then lets them rest on the small of her back. "Don't worry. If she tries to attack you, I will protect you."
Chloe laughs to herself, thinking that she was once bitten by a rabbit while trying to calm it down for an exam. The scratching and attacks didn't faze her since she'd experienced similar things from other terrified animals. Dog bites had been the worst so far and she still loved dogs.
She wasn't scared of the little, fluffy British Shorthair kitten with the big, wide eyes. She's worried Bella's jealousy of everyone who gets close to Beca might tarnish Beca's view of her. Since the cat appears to demonstrate favoritism for Chloe in a manner that it does not show to anybody else.
Bella leaps up and places her paws on her lap, then curls up and rests on her while purring gently.
Chloe pulls back to smile at the cat, stroking its head.
She gives Beca, whose mouth is agape with disbelief, a shrug, a chin-up, and a gleaming display of her teeth.
"Yup," Beca sighs, smirking at Chloe, "looks like I'll dump Luke for you."
*,*,*
A few more weeks passed, and they alternated visits to each other's apartments. Just a few hours at each other's place to cook their meals together, hang out, and chat about everything life-related. Chat about the Barden Bellas, college life again, and past lovers.
They didn't have to go far to see each other; only a half-hour's walk across the park separated their apartments. Beca's willingness to discuss her relationship with Luke also rose in tandem with the amount of booze she consumed. Which Chloe quickly realized wasn't as perfect as she'd thought.
Luke is a handsome man who deejays at events that require him to travel and be away for days, and, of course, the ladies at these gatherings are captivated by him. His relationship with Beca has been tested by his job, as she has asked him to forgo opportunities that need him to travel out of state for several days. Beca tried to speak to him, but he ignored her, thinking how possessive and insecure she was behaving. After all, they needed the cash. And if he was hired and played his "own" music, he earned a decent amount.
On one occasion, he had let slip that a woman had hit on him and asked him to her hotel room. He stated he had a girlfriend, so he politely declined and explained the situation to the woman. Since then, Beca has had a nagging sensation that something isn't quite right between them and that he may be cheating. Or maybe she was simply being paranoid, she tells herself repeatedly.
"A gut instinct shouldn't be ignored," Chloe threw in as she listened compassionately.
Beca didn't want to leave her cat alone overnight, so she took Chloe out for a ladies' night, just like the old days, and they ended the night with a burger feast at Beca's apartment since they both had the following day off. They even had to fend off a handful of males who were trying to hit on them; fortunately, Beca informed them immediately that she was taken. Chloe just declined and said she wasn't interested.
Once they return to Beca's place, the brunette tells her, "Luke is in Baltimore for a week." She places her key on the sideboard by the door, shrugging out of her black coat. "It's dreary, but I prefer having the apartment to myself."
After snacking on burgers and after past midnight, Chloe decides to call it a day and gets ready to leave.
"I should go," she says, feeling lightheaded from all the booze they continued drinking at Beca's place. She sways and holds herself upright by leaning against the backrest of the sofa.
"What? You can't leave. You're drunk," Beca exclaims in disbelief. "And it's dark outside. You can stay here."
"Beca, I've no fresh clothes," Chloe slurs. Beca is swimming out of focus. "I be fine."
Beca wobbles and holds her on her shoulders, giggling when they almost fall over, but Beca catches her. "Look, I changed the bed sheets this morning; you can sleep here," she offers, "surely, we still have the same size. Wear my PJs." Beca tilts Chloe's chin up with the back of her index finger. "I'd never forgive myself if something happened to you."
As she slaps Beca on the arm and mulls over how sweet that was, Chloe stifles a giggle behind her hand. "Aww, Beca..." Embarrassed, she then covers her face.
"You're still so weird."
They laugh more until they almost topple over. Beca watches as Chloe's laughter subsides.
"Fine. How can I refuse if you look at me like that?" Chloe chuckles.
Using Beca's extra toothbrush, she washes up, dresses in Beca's pajama shirt and shorts, and finally climbs into bed next to Beca—on the side of the bed where her boyfriend typically slept. Overall, it was an odd experience, but her mental haze makes it impossible for her to care. The following day, she would reflect on this moment once she had sobered up.
"Thank you for today," they both say simultaneously, looking surprised, and then burst out laughing. Everything is funny if you're drunk. But it's also fun when you're sober and with the right people.
"No, really, I needed that," Chloe says after a moment. She was racking her brain for the last time she went out with her coworkers and enjoyed herself. It's been a good while since. The last time she could honestly say she had fun was when Aubrey was visiting her in New York. "I didn't have this much fun for so long."
"Me, too," Beca says, staring at the ceiling and looking thoughtful. "Sometimes the stresses of real life seem insurmountable."
Chloe chuckles. "You didn't change at all. When you're drunk, you always use big words." Beca, turning to look at her, pushes her and pinches her side; Chloe squeals.
After a moment of silence, she feels soft paws crawling on her pillow and sniffing at her face.
"Hi, Bella," Chloe says, looking up at the cat's round face, "it's just me. How're you?"
Bella meows in response, nudging Chloe's head with her own.
"If I ask her that, she never answers me," Beca says petulantly, crossing her arms.
"Aww, Beca. Don't be jealous of me," Chloe says softly. She goes in closer to Beca, intending to peck her cheek, but Beca also moves at the same moment; thus, Chloe ends up kissing Beca on the lips instead. "Oh, sorry," she chuckles, covering her mouth in embarrassment, her cheeks heating up.
"Don't be," Beca says as she rolls on her side to face Chloe, brushing a strand of Chloe's hair aside and stroking her chin. With her fingertip, she traces her jaw. "You know, I really thought I lost you."
Chloe cups her friend's face and brushes her cheek with her thumb, feeling tears in her eyes. "I was never gone."
They scoot closer to each other, foreheads resting against the other's, and Chloe asks, "Beca, tell me something," she takes a deep breath, releasing it slowly, "be honest. Is it a coincidence that you were hired here and now reside near my address, or did you apply in New York because you knew I lived here?"
After a moment of thinking about that question, Beca says coyly with a smirk, "It wasn't a coincidence." She smiles, shrugging. "When I said, I'll come after you, I meant that literally."
And that's how Chloe found herself falling—for some reason, she didn't want to think about. Can't. Wouldn't. And not wanting to. Her heart is throbbing hard and fast. Having spent nearly the last five years trying to figure out why her life had seemed so dreary and lifeless when she left Beca's dorm room to say goodbye, she has finally found the answer.
And it's right before her eyes.
Beca's eyes are locked on her. The soft lighting in the bedroom casts a glow over her pallid face, bringing out her natural beauty, without all that makeup and mascara. That same bedroom she is, under other circumstances, sharing with her boyfriend. She can't deny it now. The very thought makes Chloe's throat feel tight and uncomfortable, just like in those days when she was suffering from her nodes.
Before Chloe can give more thought to the complicated situation she has placed herself in, Beca leans in close and gives her a light kiss. When their lips touch, they don't move them, and instead just stay there, gaze darting about. She is overwhelmed by confusion, filling her up from the inside out, but it is quickly replaced by something she cannot name. Beca pulls slightly back. In order to look more closely at her face.
"Oh, how embarrassing, I–" Beca stammers, withdrawing and laughing softly.
Chloe then pulls Beca back in for another kiss using the hand that has been cupping Beca's face—making a more determined movement with her lips. More so with purpose. A fierce yearning wells up inside of her, one that is both unfamiliar and comforting. Moving, pawing hands that don't know what to do or where to put themselves tangle up and wander aimlessly. Moaning quietly, teeth biting the other's bottom lip, tongues pushing, licking, and brushing inside each other's mouths, and teeth clattering till it was all sloppy, wet, and uncoordinated. In a state of extreme desperation.
Because it was the first kiss all over again. Their first kiss.
Mixed with a feeling of loneliness.
Once out of breath, they pull slightly back to look into each other's eyes again, trying to find answers in the other's dark eyes. And Chloe is asking herself why her stomach is fluttering so furiously.
They kiss again, but this time it's much lighter and less frantic than the first. Lightheaded from her racing heart, Chloe clenches her hands around Beca's head, fingers digging into her scalp. When Beca moans at this, Chloe has to fight back the urge to touch her everywhere.
After some time of drunkenly making out without wanting to consider or discuss the repercussions of their actions, Beca falls asleep on Chloe's arm, with their fingers intertwined beneath the blankets. Chloe places a kiss on her friend's forehead and then allows her lips to linger there. Her other hand is behind Beca's back, caressing her.
Bella is pawing her way on the sheet towards Chloe, resting on her side. She rolls back to adjust and to look at the white-grey feline.
"And now, Bella, what am I supposed to do?" Chloe whispers and strokes the purring cat.
And finally, she lets the tears well up and cries quietly.
A/N: A quick comment would be pretty cool. :) I love the feedback; they inspire me. Check out my tumblr for the GIFs of this chapter. They are so cute. tumblr/chiquelle.
