Best Christmas Ever
Chapter 3
Friendly Concern
After walking arm and arm back to Beca's dorm she had dropped the petite brunette off, with a promise to pick her up the next morning.
"By the way, umm where is your family home? Beca asked. "I guess I should know where I'm going."
"Oh!" Chloe realized she hadn't ever told Beca where her home was. "It's Providence Rhode Island."
"Really?"
"Totes," Chloe replied.
"Huh?" Beca looked perplexed.
"What?" Chloe asked, now confused.
"It's nothing," Beca replied. She seemed to consider her words, before she continued, "It's just I always pictured you growing up in Florida, like Tampa or Miami."
The redhead considered this for a second, but in a flash she was smiling brightly, "It's my sunny disposition!"
"Yeah, Chloe, that's exactly what it is," Beca agreed. "Umm-I guess I'll see you in the morning…"
"Totes! I'll be by to pick you up at 7:00," Chloe said, giddy with excitement.
"Ugh!" Beca blanched at the thought of the early hour she would have to get up.
Picking up on this, Chloe offered, "I'll have coffee."
Beca immediately perked up. "Well, by for now," Beca said a bit shyly, with a small wave.
She should have known there would be one more hug. Chloe swept the petite brunette upon her arms and gave the younger woman another firm but surprisingly gentle hug. "I promise Becs, this will be your best Christmas ever."
Beca didn't say anything, though she was blushing profusely. Her pale skin showed it so well. The shy smile was still in place as she slowly backed up towards the entrance to Baker Hall.
With one final wave, Beca disappeared into her dorm. Chloe waved happily until the freshman was out of sight. Then the redhead all but sprinted back to her own apartment she shared with Aubrey. She was so excited she made it back to the apartment building in record time. She took the stairs two at a time, all the way to her fourth floor. Chloe burst excitedly through the door of her apartment, and headed straight for her best friend's room. Seeing her door slightly ajar, she immediately called out for her blonde roommate as she entered her room.
"Bree! Your still here!"
The blonde jumped up at the sudden entrance of her excitable roommate. Though she had grown used to the antics of her bubbly best friend, Chloe could still catch her by surprise. With hand on her chest, the blonde senior said,"Chloe, what have I told you about startling me like that?" Aubrey tried to look stern, but it was hard when the redhead was so happy. With a sigh and a shake of her head, Aubrey returned her attention to folding a blouse she planned on taking.
Though still brimming with excitement, Chloe adopted a contrite countenance, "Sorry, but guess what?"
Aubrey paused and looked up from her packing, curiosity etched on her face. She could see this was more than her best friend's typical happiness.
"Whoa, Chloe, what's got you so excited?" Aubrey asked as she placed a few pairs of pants into her over-sized bag.
"She said yes !" Chloe exclaimed as she twirled herself around in a circle.
"What?"
"She said yes," Chloe repeated as she continued to twirl.
"Wait, who said ' yes ' and to what did she agree? What are you talking ab… Chloe, stop for a second! No don't…" the blonde tried to say as she watched the spinning redhead fall backward onto her bed, disrupting her neatly folded stacks of clothing.
With a deep sigh, Aubrey looked to the ceiling, and muttered, "Save me from crazy redheads." She then glared down at said crazy red haired girl who was now sprawled upon her bed. "CHLOE! I JUST finished folding those! Uhg. Also, what have I told you about your coffee intake?!" She demanded while she pulled a handful of blouses out from under her infuriating roommate.
"Always enjoy it with a pastry?" The redhead responded innocently.
The blonde sighed in defeat. She rubbed her eyes as she said, "Not even close." The blonde's voice betrayed a playful irritation. She reached forward and pulled the redhead into a sitting position, and then against her better judgment asked, "Okay so… are you going to explain to me why my packing has been interrupted by hurricane Chloe?"
When Chloe looked at her with a bit of confusion, Aubrey clarified, "Who said yes to you, and for what?"
Chloe's eyes brightened immediately as she remembered why she had run into Aubrey's room in the first place.
"Beca!" She answered with a dreamy quality.
"Beca?" Aubrey repeated, though with much less enthusiasm in her tone.
Chloe didn't notice. "Yes! I asked her if she would like to spend Christmas with me and my family!" She paused for dramatic effect, "And she said YES!"
Chloe fell backwards again and kicked her feet gleefully on the bed, further wrinkling the blonde's previously piled clothes.
"Would. You. Stop!" Aubrey chastises, swatting the other girl's legs with each punctuated word. "Anyways, why on earth would you ask Beca Mitchell to go home to Rhode Island with you?"
Chloe looked up at her best friend a bit shyly as she considered her answer. She really didn't think it was her place to tell Aubrey the particulars of Beca's life story. Rather, she gave her best friend a very simplified synopsis of the true story. "Well she doesn't really have anyone to spend her Christmas with, and I didn't want her to be alone. So I asked if she wanted to come with me. That's all."
"That's all?" the blonde quirked her right eyebrow, as she carefully studied her friend.
"Umm-yeah… that's it, uhh that's all." Chloe answered, suddenly feeling a real need to act nonchalant about the entire situation.
"Really." Aubrey countered dryly. "Because, your earlier entrance doesn't exactly scream, 'That's all .' In fact it screams toner!"
"What!?" Chloe's voice went into high pitched squeak territory that Chloe recognized as coming out when she's a bit nervous and on-the-spot.
She cleared her throat and tried to reassure Aubrey, "I have no idea what you're talking about."
That Chloe was actively avoiding Aubrey's gaze didn't help her case, which was clearly evident on her roommate's face. The blonde pushed, "I think you know exactly what I'm talking about."
Chloe started feeling a bit defensive at the blonde's chiding tone. "It's fine," Chloe mumbled, feeling a bit deflated that Aubrey wasn't supportive.
The blonde raised her right eyebrow even higher. Not willing to give up so easily on her best friend's evasiveness, she continued. "Are you sure this is a good idea? I mean, you don't think it's going to be a little weird?"
"Why would it be weird?" Chloe answered, furrowing her brow.
"Well first off, she's weird."
Chloe rolled her eyes at this. She didn't think Beca was weird in any way.
"Secondly, I'm just looking out for you," Aubrey sighed.
"We're friends, Bree. Beca and me, we're friends like you and me. It's exactly like if you were coming back home with me."
Chloe wouldn't admit it to her best friend, but in the back of her mind, she had thought that it could possibly be weird inviting her long-standing crush on a week-long trip back home. She had pushed those thoughts aside in favor of potentially spending more time with the tiny freshman. Now however Aubrey's line of questioning was causing part of her to rethink her impulsive invitation.
"Chlo, it's different and you know it."
"It's not. I―I'm just being a good friend, that's all. No one should be alone on Christmas." She said softly, in some ways trying to convince herself more than she was Aubrey.
Recognizing she might have pushed to hard, Aubrey chose to tread more lightly
"Chlo…".
"It's okay Bree…" interjected the deflated redhead.
"It's not, Chloe, I worry about you." The Bella captain was fully aware of the major crush her best friend had for the petite alt-girl. Even before the redhead had finally admitted her growing feelings for Beca after the night of the riff-off, Aubrey had sensed the sexual tension growing between the two during their rehearsals. It has actually become quite distracting.
What the blonde hadn't been able to gauge yet was whether Beca truly reciprocates those feelings or not.
She'd also seen how much that goofy treble boy had been hanging around Beca both at the radio station and outside and outside of it. This all added to her constant frustration with the snarky munchkin. It was why she's worried and trying to protect her best friend from getting her heart broken.
Chloe looked up at her, already knowing what her best friend was about to say. She would listen, but in her soul she knew Aubrey was wrong.
"Look, I know you have a massive toner for the refugee from Oz, but don't you think taking her home to meet the parents this early is a little much?"
"It's not like that, Bree. As far as I can tell she doesn't swing that way and if she does, she's not interested. God knows I've been dropping hints for the past three months," Chloe dejectedly admitted. The redhead stared down at her lap as she played with her hand. Resigned to this truth she asked, "That has to mean she's not interested, right?"
A shroud of silence descended upon the room. It took a moment of processing before Aubrey spoke. "I'm not sure that's true Chloe."
"Beca would have to know how I feel," Chloe reiterated. "The only thing I haven't done is show up at her door wearing only a long coat."
""Please don't do that," Aubrey said immediately as she let out a breathy chuckle. She sat down next to the redhead on her bed, and offered, "I don't know, Chlo… she is pretty dense."
Chloe laughed lightly, but then quickly schooled her features. With a light slap to her friend's leg, she admonished, "Don't be mean."
"Is it really being mean if it's true?" Aubrey asked as she nudged the redhead's shoulder playfully. "My point isn't to disparage her, that's just a bonus, but to point out to you that you haven't just told her the truth of your feelings."
With a huff, Chloe said, "Whatever, it's not important. It's evident she's not into me. I'm not going to ruin a budding friendship by making her uncomfortable with my feelings." The redhead seemed to remember something, and added, "Besides, I always see her with that treble Jesse. She's probably into him."
"So then why are you inviting her to spend Christmas with your family? Have you become a fan of self-torture? Are you now a masochist?" Aubrey asked, though she grinned slightly to let her friend recognize there was some level of levity in the questions.
"Noooo!" Chloe drawled out, then sighed. "It's just… you know… sometimes it feels like she could feel it too. That there could be something between us." Chloe's mind replayed the conversation in the diner. She thought about the vulnerable young woman who revealed some of her inner pain. She thought about the badass DJ that Beca often displayed to the world. "It's just hard, you know, to gauge anything with her because of how closed off she is."
Aubrey sat silently next to her best friend for a minute. She then asked with real exuberance, "Have you thought about just walking up to her and kissing her?"
Chloe scoffed loudly, "Yeah right, like that won't freak her out completely." She leaned her head onto Aubrey's shoulder. "It's just, If I'm being honest," Chloe whispered. "I figured getting her in a more one-on-one setting, away from school and all the Bellas stuff it just might work out in my favor, you know? And I know she hasn't really responded to any of my flirting, at least not that I've noticed anyways, but," Chloe lifted her head up to stare into her best friend's kind green eyes. "I'm just not ready to give up trying to be with her. And I don't think I will until I know for sure I have no chance at all."
"Sweetie… don't get me wrong here, because I'm completely on Team Chloe, I want you to be happy, okay?" Aubrey hesitated, contemplated her next words carefully as she looked into Chloe's hopeful, but sad blue eyes. She really did want to support her best friend. "But, maybe your motives are a little selfish here. I mean, you said it yourself… you don't think she's responding to your advances. I just don't want to see you completely fall for her, and then have your heart broken if she has to reject you."
Not the pep talk Chloe was hoping for. But still in her heart told her she was doing the right thing. Even if they never got together, Beca deserved a Merry Christmas, filled with love.
With a deep steadying breath, Chloe truthfully said, "Maybe I am doing it partly for a selfish reason. But you know what?" Chloe stood up abruptly, pacing as she began her appeal. "She deserves to have a Merry Christmas, and not be alone here at Barden, while the rest of us enjoy friends and family. Yes,I think a lot about her most days, and that would be doubly true if I knew she was in her dorm room alone on Christmas morning." She stopped in front of Aubrey, and continued, "I just wanna spend time with her, and make sure she knows she is loved. I wanna learn everything there is to know about her, and I want her to get to know me better…"
"Chloe…" Aubrey tried to interrupt the redhead's ramble, but the girl was on a roll.
"And if she happens to fall for me during the process… Well, I'm not gonna complain!"
"Chloe!"
"What?" Chloe exclaimed loudly, a little startled at the blonde's interruption.
"Are you seriously even listening to yourself?"
"Uhg, I know, fine. I sound a little crazy. I just… Umm-I really like her, Bree." Chloe sat back onto the bed again, laying her head back on Aubrey's shoulder.
"I know sweetie." She says, taking her best friend's hand in her own. "But you can't force love. Maybe Beca likes you, maybe she doesn't. Maybe she's not attracted to women, or even if she is, maybe she's too emotionally stunted for a relationship at all. Maybe I'm biased and don't think she's good enough for you." Aubrey gave Chloe's shoulders a slight squeeze for encouragement, and she can see a small smile grace her friend's mouth. "And I'm not saying you shouldn't have asked Beca to go with you. Maybe having some alone time together will help knock some sense into that girl, and maybe, just maybe having you introduce some fun into that girl's life will knock the snark out of her. Lord knows I could do with her being less of an ass at practice all the time!"
"You know, she'd say the exact same thing about you?" Chloe smirked, trying to hold back a small chuckle that was rising up.
"Oh shut up."
Chloe couldn't contain her laughter at Aubrey's reaction. After a solid minute of giggling, the redhead took a deep breath and composed herself. She was able to school her features enough to solemnly say, "I promise Bree, I won't be a crazy creeper girl, and I won't get my hopes up too much with Beca. I really don't want to set myself up for disappointment, just as I don't want to risk possibly losing my friendship with her."
Again the two friends sit in silence, before Aubrey gave her best friend's hand a comforting squeeze. They recognized that this part of the conversation had come to a close; any more would just be the two talking in circles. After another moment of comfortable silence, Aubrey glanced over at her best friend. "So what did your mother say when you told her you were bringing someone home with you?" Aubrey asked with a curious expression.
Chloe suddenly found the ceiling really interesting, and worthy of her attention.
"Chloe?"
"Well - I haven't actually called my mom yet, but I'm sure it'll be fine. Umm… I'm just going to call her in a minute…"
This caused the blonde to light up. "Oh, can I please be there for the interrogation? Please!"
With a scoff Chloe swatted Aubrey's arm and then chuckled. "No!" She continued between chuckles. "It's going to be bad enough with her teasing me over the phone about Beca. I don't need you there snickering or the two of you ganging up on me."
"Fine, fine," Aubrey waved it away. She then whispered conspiritably, "I just get the details from Catherine later anyways."
With a faux shriek, Chloe laughed, "You're seriously the worst."
"And yet you still love me," Aubrey teased.
Chloe looked at her longtime friend, and was glad to see this side of Aubrey. She had been a bit worried by Aubrey's single mindedness and inflexibility she had been displaying. This was the Aubrey she had known for years. This was her friend and sister. She nudged her friend's shoulder and admitted, "For some reason I do. Though I can't seem to remember why at this particular moment." Chloe squinted her eyes in faux contemplation, tapping her chin with her index finger.
"I can tell you, it's because I'm aca-amazing!" The blonde motioned her hands towards herself, as if displaying herself to Chloe.
"Is that really it?" Chloe contemplated out loud, as she tapped her chin.
"Shut up and go call your mother about… Beca." Aubrey imitated the dreamy way Chloe had said the brunette's name earlier.
With a giddy shriek, Chloe jumped up off Aubrey's bed. She paused though, and flashed a mischievous smirk that Aubrey would swear matched that of Beca Mitchell's. The redhead then proceeded to turn back and tossed the collection of Aubrey's now crumpled shirts back at the blonde. she turned to leave the room. "Uhg, the worst!" She exclaims, chuckling as she closes the door.
-~Merry Pitchmas 2021~-
Notes: Your comments are greatly appreciated.