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Chapter Two: Pt. I

The second thing at Christmas that's such a pain to me:

Rigging Up The Lights

(And finding a Christmas tree)

"Beca."

No.

"Beca."

"It's too early." Beca rolls away from the voice singing her name and buries her face in her pillow. There isn't much Beca misses about living at home, but if there is one thing she would die to have again, it's her own room with a lock on the door. "Come back in an hour."

"You said that an hour ago," Chloe replies.

Did she?

"Bec, come on." Chloe is suddenly shaking her shoulder, bouncing up and down on the bed like a 5.0 magnitude earth quake. "We have work to do."

"You sound like Aubrey, and it's too early to be having PTSD flashbacks." Beca flops back over onto her back and cracks her eyes open as Chloe settles down. "Dude, have you been sitting on my bed for the past hour?" When Chloe doesn't answer, she regrets that she even asked. "What could you possibly need that requires me to be awake at" - she looks at the clock – "….ten a.m." Okay, maybe it's a little bit later than Beca thought.

"You promised you were going to help me with my job," Chloe reminds her – and while Beca remembers, she doesn't recall the word 'promise' having been anywhere in that conversation. But Chloe did (unnecessarily) cut down a tree for her, so, whatever.

"Fine." Beca sit up and lets the top of the blanket fall to her lap. "Let me get dressed."

Chloe smiles and nods, maintaining eye contact with her.

"Could you leave?" Beca asks when nothing happens.

"Oh. Right." Chloe stands up and smooths down the blanket where she had been sitting. "See you in five minutes."

"It's going to take" – Beca begins to speak, but Chloe is already bouncing out the door – "longer than that to get ready."

xxxxx

Everyone else is already awake. There's coffee and cinnamon buns in the kitchen, and that makes being forcefully woken up against her will a little bit easier to forgive. "It smells amazing in here," she comments and takes a seat at the table.

"Thanks," Emily says and passes her a plate, "I thought everyone could use a little Christmas joy after the tree fiasco."

Fiasco. Beca responds with a tight smile then opens her mouth to take a bite before Chloe bursts into the room to stop her. Before Chloe can say anything, Beca is already responding. "If you want me to be awake and to help you, I at least get to eat breakfast first." She bites into the cinnamon bun to show she's not leaving. "You might as well pull up a seat."

"I need more coffee anyway," Chloe claims then pours them both a cup and does just that.

"You never told me exactly what it is I'm helping you do," Beca points out.

"Oh. We're hanging up the lights outside," Chloe answers.

Okay. That's easy enough. Beca used to help her father hang up Christmas lights at one point in time. It wasn't exactly the most enjoyable task, but it wasn't one that was particularly difficult either. "Great. Where are the lights?"

"I got them out of the attic this morning," Chloe answers, "They're in a box by the front door."

Perfect. Even better now that Beca doesn't have to help find them in that mess up there.

"Don't worry," Chloe says, "This is going to be a piece of cake."

xxxxx

"Okay, who took down the lights last year?" Beca asks. They're all standing in the living room, and Beca tries to narrow it down by who she knows didn't take down the lights last year. She knows for certain that it wasn't herself, and Emily wasn't even here. Everyone else is guilty until proven innocent, and nobody says a word. They all just look around the room, then one by one they find an excuse to bail out, leaving her and Chloe to sort out this mess alone. "You didn't think to untangle them when you brought them down from the attic?"

"I didn't bother to look in the box," Chloe replies, "How hard can untangling a few strands of light be?"

Beca reaches inside and picks up five strings of lights that have someone managed to tie themselves together. "This is going to take hours."

"It's going to take like ten minutes."

"I think we should just go out and buy new lights."

"No offense, but I don't think you should be in charge of buying anything after you went out and bought a fake tree."

Beca sits down and tries to find an end to one of the light strands. "First of all, I am offended. And second of all, at least the tree I picked wouldn't be hanging from the ceiling fan right now if you had just let me set it up."

"You don't have to be mean about it."

She doesn't have to be – just let it go, Beca. "Do these lights even have an end that plugs in somewhere?!"

"Of course they have an end that plugs in somewhere," Chloe replies, "They're not solar powered." She sits down next to her, their knees touching, and pulls the light pile onto both of their laps to help her look. "Here." She tugs at one of the ends that plugs in and starts to unwrap it from where it's tangled up around the rest of the cord. "See? Easy-peasy."

"Yeah," Beca murmurs, "Easy-peasy."

xxxxx

Easy-peasy Beca's ass. In the time it takes them to untangle every string of lights, she could have gone to the store and come back with new ones three times.

xxxxx

"Hey, Beca…"

Beca looks up from where she's spreading the lights out across the front lawn where they cannot possibly become tangled again. "Did you find the ladder?"

"About the ladder…" Chloe says, trailing off at the end.

Beca stares at her until she realizes that Chloe isn't about to continue whatever she has to say. "What about the ladder, Chlo?" she dares to ask.

"It's not there."

"What do you mean it's not there?"

"Remember a few months ago when I told you someone borrowed the ladder?" Chloe asks.

"Yes…"

"They never gave it back."

"Okay." Beca exhales a lengthy sigh. "So, we have to go get it back. Who borrowed it?"

"That's the thing," Chloe answers with a shrug, "I have no idea. I went outside that day and it just wasn't there anymore."

Beca blinks. "So you're saying someone stole our ladder?"

"Well, I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt," Chloe answers, "But I guess at this point, they probably aren't planning to give it back, so, yeah, 'stole' might be the right word."

"Then someone better go out and buy one right now, because there is no way I am putting these lights back in that box until we get a new ladder."

"How are we even going to get a ladder home?" Chloe asks.

"Strap it to the roof of the car like we did the tree?" Beca suggests, "I don't know, but someone better figure it out."

"That's going to take too long," Chloe says.

"So then what do you propose we do?"

Chloe is quiet for a moment before a grin spreads across her face. "I have an idea."

xxxxx

"No," Beca states firmly, "I'm not doing that."

"Please, Bec?" Chloe begs.

"I will untangle those lights fifty times before I agree to that idea." Beca shakes her head.

"You're going to have to untangle them again if we have to put them back in the box until we get a new ladder – and those light elves work fast on tangling lights," Chloe replies.

"I don't know what a light elf is, but I'm pretty sure it doesn't exist. And we won't have to put them back if you just go get a ladder right now."

"Or we could just go with my idea and not have to worry about a ladder at all," Chloe says, "Don't you want to get this done? I thought they needed you at the radio station tonight."

Shit. Beca had forgotten all about that. …shit. "If I die doing this…"

"You're not going to die," Chloe assures her.

"This feels like how might die."

"You're not going to die. I'll go get The Bellas." Chloe walks toward the front door, and Beca can hear her mutter, "Worst case scenario, you break a few bones."

xxxxx

"I'll do it," Amy volunteers to help them.

"I feel like if I'm going to do this, I should at least get to pick who is going to help me," Beca says.

"What's wrong with Fat Amy?" Chloe asks.

What's wrong with Fat Amy? "Out of everyone here, Amy is the person most likely to drop me."

"I'm your best friend, Beca." Amy lays a hand on her shoulder. "I would never let you fall."

"Those were the exact words you used before the blender on the top shelf incident," Beca reminds her.

Amy cringes and lifts her hand.

"I have a scar." Beca turns to face the rest of them, looking through her options. "Cynthia-Rose?" She seem sturdy.

"Mm mm." Cynthia-Rose shakes her head. "Last time I tried to help you aca-bitches with these lights, I pulled a muscle."

"Stacie?" She's tall…

"My body has a weight limit."

"Flo?" She's careful…

"I can do it," Emily offers.

Beca stares at her, unsure. Is she tall? Yes. Sturdy? Debatable. Careful? She tries to be...

"I won't drop you," Emily promises, "I used to give my friends piggyback rides all the time. You must weight like what - five pounds?"

"Why don't you do this?" Beca asks Chloe, "This is technically your job, and you're not that much bigger than me."

"You refused to help me cut down the tree," Chloe answers.

And Beca regrets that very much now. She inches her way toward Emily as Emily squats down, waiting optimistically for one of them to come up with a better idea. "Do we even need lights?" Judging by the looks every single one of them gives her, yes, lights are a Christmas necessity. "Because we could just buy those giant lawn decorations." No? Cynthia-Rose and Amy help her up onto Emily's shoulders. "Oh my god, you're like ten feet tall," she panics as Emily stands up.

"I'm only 5'8."

"That's still like two of me. How am I supposed to get up on the roof?"

"Just stand up," Emily says like it's nothing.

Just stand up? Beca reaches one hand up to grab the edge of the roof, but she's not even close to being able to reach.

"Look, we'll hold your legs," Cynthia-Rose says, and she and Amy grab each of Beca's upper legs, "We're not gonna let you fall."

"I don't know if I believe you," Beca admits.

"Fine," Flo sighs like she had to be talked into assisting, "I'll spot you."

"This is a really stupid idea." Beca places her hands on Emily's head and shakily stands up in her shoulder. Don't look down. Just don't look down. "I still can't reach."

Stacie grabs on of her feet.

"No!" Beca changes her mind about all of this as Emily manages to grab her other foot. Christmas is cancelled! They don't have to worry about any of this, because Beca has decided Christmas isn't happening in the Bellas house – and she is, technically, the one in charge here! "Guys!" A small shriek escapes her as they lift her up into the air by her feet, and she scrambles up onto the awning roof then collapses on her stomach, panting. Below her, cheering and a few high fives celebrate her terror.

"I'm going to throw the staple gun up to you!" Chloe calls.

"Don't throw it at me!" The very last thing she needs is to be stapled to the roof. "Don't throw it at me." She closes her eyes until it lands next to her, then opens one eye to make sure she hasn't been hit. It's laying harmlessly about a foot away. "I just want you all to know that I am not having a happy holiday season right now!"

"You're kind of bringing down the cheer, Beca," Chloe responds, and there are mumbles of agreement all around.

"I don't see anybody else up on this roof! Or putting in any kind of effort!" That's the wrong thing to say, because they all begin to shout at once about the amount of teamwork it took getting Beca up there. "Someone just throw me the lights!"

"If we just ball them back up, we can -" Chloe begins to say until Beca cuts her off with a sharp 'no!'

"Just throw one of the ends." If they ball them up, Beca is going to have to untangle them again – and, this time, she'll be doing it alone.

"Like a lasso?" Amy asks.

"Yes!" Beca sits up. "Yes, exactly like a lasso!" The end of one of the strings hits her in the temple. "Ow! Amy!"

"Bullseye."

xxxxx

"I have never loved anyone in my entire life as much as I love you right now," Beca claims after everyone except Emily and Chloe goes inside and Emily pulls a kitchen chair outside so she can connect Beca's lights to another strand and wrap the pillars on either side of the porch, "In a completely platonic, non-creepy way."

"This is great. I've always been so excited for my first Bellas Christmas."

Chloe is giving them an odd look as she neatly bundles up the two remaining light strands that were meant to go on the roof itself. The only way to get Beca on that roof is if a few of them stand out on the awning, and it doesn't look like anyone (except maybe Emily) wants to volunteer for that.

"I don't see you hanging up any of the lights," Beca says, "And this was your job. And do not pull the whole axing down the tree thing on me again; it only works once."

Chloe stands up with her light bundles and carries them inside without a word.

"Chloe!" Beca calls after her. Shit. "Chloe! Don't" – it's too late – "leave me out here. How am I supposed to get down?!"

"You could always crawl back in through the window," Emily suggests, "That's probably better than jumping."

Beca turns around to see the window to Stacie's room directly behind her.

"I guess you probably could have crawled out that way too. But I think it was awesome how we all worked together to get you up there."

xxxxx

"Stacie!" Beca bangs on the glass, "Open the window!"

"Sorry, I don't let in serial killers!" Stacie calls back.

"You know I'm not a serial killer!"

"That sounds exactly like something a serial killer would say."

Beca exhales a groan and taps her foot a few times then knocks again. "You know it's Beca! You know my voice and you know I was on the roof!"

"I don't know if there's serial killer on the roof with you telling you to say that so I'll unlock my window."

"Stacie, listen to me. I am stuck out here, alone, on this roof, and-"

The window slides open and Stacie's peers out at her, grinning ear to ear. "Gotcha." She pushes the curtain out of the way so Beca can climb inside.

"That was really, really funny," Beca deadpans as she steps inside.

"You know, I was thinking right before we lifted you up there that you could have climbed out through the window too," Stacie says, "That would have been so much easier."

"I'll make sure to remember that when no one wants to help take them all back down. Right now, if anyone else needs help with any part of their Christmas related jobs, ask somebody, no, ask anybody else. I'll be at work."