A/N: Hey guys! Remember me? I apologize for legit dropping off the face of the planet, I have been working two jobs crazy hours for a while, but now I'm unemployed! Thanks Corona :/ But that means I'm sitting in my apartment bored out of my mind, so I decided to break this bad boy out again. The long awaited chapter 3 is here! I went and changed to POV of this story to third person since a lot of people seemed to want it written from that POV. Everything from the previous chapters has stayed the same, however I understand if you guys gotta go back and refresh your memory on what happened in them. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter and let me know what you guys think! Love you all very much.
"Rebeca Mitchell, where the hell are you?" Stacie's voice echoed through the speakers in her suit. "Auditions are almost over!"
She was swinging through the city as fast as possible trying to get to Barden University's auditorium. She had just stopped a woman from getting mugged when she realized the time. However, on her way over an old woman had made her stop to look for her missing cat, which she ended up finding in a tree at a park across the street. The woman had been so grateful she wouldn't stop hugging Beca, which caused her to be way behind schedule.
She also had to stop at her dorm room to grab clothes, because she couldn't exactly walk into auditions wearing her Spider-Girl costume. She opted for going through the window, making sure Kimmy Jin wasn't in the room before crawling through. She had shoved random articles of clothing into a backpack before web-zipping out the window towards the Auditorium.
"I know, I know!" She huffed in frustration. Her day was not going as planned. "I had to save a cat from a tree."
"I know you have responsibilities and all, but can't you put them on pause for one moment so we can bag these two sexy captains?"
When she had told Stacie about Chloe, her best friend had squealed in excitement because she also had her eyes set on Aubrey. Now, when she told Beca that the hero had to stop herself from gagging because it was Aubrey, but the two had classes together and they do say opposites attract afterall, so she guessed it kind of made sense.
"Ugh, that's not why I'm auditioning, Stace!" She barked at her and she could hear her trying to stifle her laughter. "Why must you always think about sex?"
"You know he's a hunter, Becs," Stacie giggled. "Now get your cute little butt over here, I can see Red looking around for you."
With that said she hung up the phone, which happened to be as Beca landed on the rooftop of the auditorium. She quickly changed, blessed that her outfit actually matched. She had on a grey long-sleeved shirt paired with black jeans and black leather boots. She pulled half her hair back into a ponytail and let the rest flow freely past her shoulders.
She inhaled deeply before entering the auditorium, but when she heard a girl finish singing Since U Been Gone she panicked. She hadn't known she had to prepare anything, and she was internally cursing Stacie out for not telling her. She was about to walk out and forget about ever stepping foot into this auditorium and flee the campus forever, when the girl she hadn't been able to take her mind off spotted her.
"Oh wait, there's one more," she heard her say to the guys standing on the stage, and Beca knew that she had missed her chance to leave. Once she heard that voice it dragged her onto the stage. "Hi."
"Hello," Beca said with an awkward wave. She made slow steps onto the stage, still wishing she could turn back. She saw Chloe motion for her to come closer, and the way she was looking at Beca with such excitement made her want to melt into a puddle. "Um, I didn't know we had to prepare that song."
"Oh, that's okay," Chloe waved her comment off dismissively. "Sing anything you want."
"Uh," she mumbled, dropping to her knees in front of the desk Chloe and Aubrey were sitting at. She saw a yellow cup full of pens on the desk, and hesitantly reached for it. She took a peek at Aubrey and saw her frowning, which was to be expected. She glanced back at the redhead and she had a typical smile on her face. Beca really didn't understand the dynamic between the two of them. "May I?"
When she got permission from Chloe, she dumped the pens on the desk as gently as possible. She sat back on her rear, crossing her legs to get comfortable. After clearing her throat she took one more deep breath. She began to tap the beat she had come to learn by heart after obsessively practicing it for a few days when she had been in high school.
"I got my ticket for the long way 'round
Two bottles of whiskey for the way
And I sure would like some sweet company
And I'm leavin' tomorrow, what d'ya say?
When I'm gone
When I'm gone
You're gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss me by my hair
You're gonna miss me everywhere
Oh, I know you're gonna miss me when I'm gone."
As she finished singing she looked at the desk and saw Chloe grinning at her. Aubrey still had a slight frown adorning her features, but Beca couldn't really blame her for it after their first encounter.
Not wanting to drag the situation out any longer, Beca stood from her position on stage, shooting the redhead a soft smile and walked off the stage in search of Stacie. It wasn't hard to find her since she was already waiting for Beca near the entrance she came in from.
"Oh my god, Beca, she is so into you," Stacie gushed as soon as she saw Beca. She grabbed the shorter girl by the arms, pulled her into a bone-crushing hug and nearly suffocated Beca with her chest. "Nice outfit choice, really shows off your goodies. I've taught you so well."
"You're reading way too into things," Beca said as she pulled herself out of her grasp. "She isn't into me. We barely know each other."
"You're just in denial. Have I ever been wrong about something like this?"
Beca thought back to all the times that Stacie had hinted at her that someone was flirting with her or liked her, and she honestly couldn't think of a time where she had been wrong. She did have a knack for spotting sexual tension, but Beca didn't want to get her hopes up about this. The last thing she needed was for Stacie's words to get to her head and then get rejected by Chloe.
"Incoming puppy dog, ten o'clock," Beca heard Stacie say. "He's totally coming to ask you out."
Beca frowned at her friend's words and glanced in the direction she mentioned. She saw a taller boy coming towards them with scruffy brown hair, and Beca believed she'd seen him around campus but had never really spoken to him.
"Hey," he greeted once he approached the two friends. "I'm Jesse, I saw your audition and I just had to come introduce myself. You were really great out there."
"Thank you," Beca said genuinely. "I'm Beca."
"I was wondering if maybe you'd want to hang out sometime. We could go have dinner and see a movie or something," he said, scratching the back of his neck and looking down.
"Sorry, loverboy," Stacie interrupted, which Beca was slightly grateful for. "You're shootin' in the wrong basket. Beca, here, only has eyes for a certain lady in red."
At first Beca had been grateful for Stacie butting in so she wouldn't have to reject Jesse, but now she was just mortified. Stacie had a tendency of pushing Beca's buttons and embarrassing her, and she knew it was all in good fun, but she didn't want people finding out about her crush on Chloe and having it get back to her. She didn't want her to think she was creepy.
"Stacie!" Beca hissed, elbowing her a little harder than she intended, but it did the desired effect of shutting her up.
"Oh, that's cool! If you need a wingman, I got you," Jesse said, waving off the rejection. His attention diverted to something behind her, and his goofy grin turned into a smirk. "Speak of the devil."
He walked away after his comment, and Beca turned around to see Chloe walking toward her and Stacie. She internally panicked because she hadn't seen her since the shower incident, other than when she was dressed as Spider-Girl, but that felt different than being regular Beca. Her suit allowed her to have a confidence that she didn't normally carry since nobody actually knew who she was behind the mask.
"Hey guys," Chloe greeted with a smile. Her eyes locked with Beca's and she could feel her heart trying to leap out of her chest. "Thanks so much for auditioning. You were fantastic!"
"Does that mean we made it in?" Stacie asked.
"I can't disclose that quite yet. I still have to go over it with Aubrey, but I have a good feeling," Chloe explained. Her attention diverted back to Beca and she had that smile that made Beca's knees weak. "Can I speak to you privately for a second?"
"I was about to head out anyways," Stacie said and threw a wink at Beca. "Enjoy, ladies. I'll see you tomorrow, Beca."
Beca smiled at her friend and then she glanced at Chloe. She had a look on her face that Beca couldn't quite place, and it made her a little nervous because every interaction she's had with Chloe she'd been able to read her very well. It didn't quite look like anger, but it almost looked like jealousy. Beca wasn't sure what would have made her jealous though, so she shook the thought out of her head before she read too much into it.
"You guys seem close," Chloe commented, and even her tone was a bit different. More restrained than her usual bubbliness.
"She's my best friend," Beca explained. " I've known her since we were in middle school."
"Really?" She asked, and her tone seemed relieved. Beca tried not to think too much about that. "That's really cool. Same with me and Aubrey."
"Nice," Beca grinned. "So, I'm assuming that what you have to discuss with Aubrey is whether or not she'll let someone as broody and sarcastic as me into your group?"
A look of recognition flashed across Chloe's face, and for the millionth time that day Beca panicked. She was scared she had said too much and risked exposing her secret by referring to a conversation she had with the other woman as Spider-Girl. She could feel Chloe scanning her face, as if trying to imagine her wearing red and blue tights.
"How did you know…?"
"How did I know what?" Beca asked, morphing her features into one of confusion. Playing the stupid card was her only possible way out of the sticky situation she'd created.
"Nothing, it's nothing," Chloe stammered, shaking her head to rid her mind of her current thought process. "I just wanted to speak with you so I could… apologize."
"Apologize?" The brunette questioned, confused by what Chloe meant. "What do you have to apologize for?"
"It was wrong of me to corner you in the bathroom like, uh, that," she began to explain.
"Chloe, you don't have–"
"Please, let me just say this," the taller woman interrupted. "If I made you feel pressured to join the Bellas, I didn't mean to. It's just– you have an incredible voice, and I just get so excited by talented musicians, so I tend to do drastic things in those situations. If you don't want to be a part of the Bellas, you don't have to be, but I think you would be an extreme asset to our group."
"Chloe," Beca chuckled, finding the unnecessary apology endearing. "I wanted to audition. You didn't pressure me to do anything I didn't want to do."
"I just wanted to make sure," Chloe grinned. "And I realized we never really properly introduced ourselves."
"Beca Mitchell," she smiled, extending her hand to introduce herself.
Chloe grasped her hand, and Beca had to bite her lip when an electrical current shot up her arm from the simple gesture. She really didn't know what it was about this girl, but anytime she was around her senses went haywire.
"Chloe Beale."
"I know who you are," Beca smirked.
"And how did you know that?" Chloe giggled. Her eyes were gleaming and it was making Beca's stomach flutter. She felt confidence in herself, the same kind of confidence she felt when she spoke to the other girl while she was concealed by her mask.
"It's not that hard to find out who the beautiful redhead who can sing is on campus."
She watched a blush form on Chloe's cheeks, and she had a brief moment of triumph, thinking Stacie would have been proud of her flirtation game. The triumph was interrupted, however, when her phone began to ring the familiarly annoying ringtone that meant there was trouble in the city she needed to resolve. She pulled her phone out of her pocket quickly to check what was going on, and saw Gail's name flashing across her screen. She never called unless it was serious.
"I'm sorry, I just realized the time. I have somewhere I need to be," Beca explained quickly. "I'll see you later, Chloe."
She didn't wait for a response, fear gripping her from the possibility of what could have happened. She began to make her way towards the exit. She pushed the door open to feel the Georgia heat hit her hard. She still wasn't used to the weather change from New York.
"Beca, wait!"
She turned around as she held the door half open to see Chloe in the same spot she left her.
"I knew who you were, too," she smiled, and when Beca only arched an eyebrow in confusion, she elaborated. "It's not that hard to find out who the broody, sarcastic girl who's always wearing headphones is on campus."
Beca laughed at the comment, throwing Chloe one last wave goodbye before heading to the destination Gail had texted her. Her brief moment with the redhead left her in a great mood, one that didn't seem to be diminishing any time soon.
She had been wrong about her good mood– once she reached the address to the bank that Gail had sent her, her good mood was gone. A bomb went off at the bank, and armored men had gone in to steal what was inside. Innocent people were in there, and the fire the bomb had created was just continuing to grow. She spotted Gail behind an armored S.W.A.T truck, trying to get cover from the bullets flying around from the men attacking the bank.
She swung toward the truck and landed on it, right above Gail. She could see a look of relief flash across the captain's face when she spotted her.
"It's about time you showed up," Gail said to her. "We're getting ambushed out here."
"Sorry I'm late," Beca apologized. "Do you know how many people are stuck inside?"
"There were four employees, and six civilians. We've only gotten two out of there so far."
"And how many gunmen?" She asked, already trying to scope the area for possible exit points.
"We don't know. From what I saw there could be about twenty of them," Gail explained.
"I'll get the civilians while you guys work on taking them out. I'll swing back around once I get them out and help you pick off the rest."
Before Gail had a chance to respond, Beca shot a web at a window of the building with the least smoke and zipped inside. There was a lot of smoke that caused it to be difficult to see even with her enhanced vision. There was chaos inside, two people were trapped under large pieces of rubble from the explosion, and the other civilians and workers were trying to get them out.
The entrance was blocked by a large desk that had been moved from the explosion. Beca quickly shot thick webs at the desk and pulled it aside so there was enough room to escape.
"You guys get out of here!" She shouted to the civilians who were trying to help the others. She ran over to the large piece of rubble that was trapping the other two and squeezed herself in so she had good leverage on the piece. "I'll get them out of here!"
She looked at the two women trapped under the rubble. They must have been employees, concluding from the fact that they were so close to where the explosion happened. "Okay, I'm going to lift this and when you have enough space slide out. I'll get you two to an ambulance to get your injuries assessed."
Beca took a deep breath and then began to lift the heavy piece of rubble. She was grateful for her super strength because even for her it was challenging to lift, and if she wasn't there these women would be trapped in the fire for who knows how long.
The two women slid out and as soon as they were in the clear Beca put down the giant piece that had been crushing them. She picked up both women and rushed out of the bank, bringing them to the ambulance to have their injuries looked at. She didn't have much chance to make sure the civilians were safe before she heard a familiar voice call out for her.
"Hey, Spidey, over here!"
She turned and was met with red hair and blue eyes that made her heart stop. Chloe looked the same as she had about a half hour ago when she last saw her, but the sight of her always made Beca's brain malfunction.
"What are you doing here?" Beca asked as she ran over to Chloe. "How'd you get here so fast?"
"I may or may not have flirted with a cop to steal his radio a few months ago so I could hear what's going on in the city," Chloe replied sheepishly. She was scratching the back of her head and avoiding eye contact with the shorter girl.
"Chloe– I, you did what?" Beca stuttered, baffled by this woman's antics. She wouldn't say it out loud, but it was a pretty smart move on her part.
"It doesn't matter," Chloe waved off the previous comment. Her features morphed into a look of pure concern. "What's going on here? Is everything okay?"
"Bomb went off. A group of dudes are trying to rob the bank. Everyone is fine other than minor injuries. I was able to get all the civilians out."
"That doesn't make sense. Why here? This is one of the smallest banks in the city, I doubt they keep much money here," Chloe frowned, her head tilting to the side in confusion.
Her words made Beca think, because if what she said was true and it was a small branch, why were there so many men there? Unless it was meant to be a distraction, but a distraction from what?
"Maybe… it's supposed to be a–"
Just as Beca was about to complete her thought, a loud explosion in the distance caught their attention. Smoke was billowing into the sky, and even from a large distance it was still visible. This heist was just meant to tie up all law enforcement so they couldn't stop whatever was going on across the city.
"A diversion," Beca gulped as she watched the flames from a distance. She turned back to Chloe, who was still watching the aftermath of the explosion in horror. "Chloe, go back home. I'll catch up with you later and fill you in on what's going on!"
Before the taller woman had a chance to say anything, Beca jumped into the air and started swinging towards the explosion across the city. Her heart was racing as she made her way closer. She was really wishing she could go back in time and continue saving cats from trees for the rest of the day, or spending it learning more about her newest friend, but instead she was swinging her way into a path of danger.
