When the rain is blowing in your face

And the whole world is on your case

I could offer you a warm embrace

To make you feel my love

I know you haven't made your mind up yet

But I would never do you wrong

I've known it from the moment that we met

No doubt in my mind where you belong

I'd go hungry I'd go black and blue

I'd go crawling down the avenue

Know there's nothing that i wouldn't do

To make you feel my love

I could make you happy make your dreams come true

Nothing that I wouldn't do

Go to the ends of the earth for you

To make you feel my love

The next morning, Beca's head was still spinning around from all the booze her friends had made her drink. Although she had a very good alcohol tolerance, she wasn't used to partying or getting drunk. They barely managed to get into a cab that took them back to their hotel, and the ten girls staggered across the lobby toward their rooms. Luckily for Beca, Aubrey and Chloe immediately passed out once they sat on their beds, and saved her the embarrassing task of holding their hair back when they puked. Sadly, Fat Amy and Cynthia-Rose hadn't been as lucky, as they both had to deal with a very drunk Stacie.

On Sunday, two days after the Finals, they returned to Atlanta. She began unpacking as soon as she entered her room, but was interrupted by a text from Jesse.

J: Do you feel like going for those waffles tonight?

B: Maybe. But don't you think they'd taste better in the morning?

J: I just remembered I have a quiz tomorrow. If you don't want to, we can reschedule for next Saturday.

B: Let's go today, I don't mind J

J: Okay. I'll see you at the entrance of Baker Hall at, say, 7:30?

B: C

When Beca went down the stairs, she was surprised to see Jesse was already waiting for her. He was wearing a blue shirt, jeans and black boots. Jesse wasn't a devilishly handsome guy, but he wasn't bad looking, either. He knew what looked good on him, and he always did what he could to look as presentable as possible.

"Hey!" he greeted her as soon as she saw her. They kissed, and she noticed he had a small package on his hand; however, she couldn't tell what it was.

"Hey. How long have you been waiting for me?"

"I just got here."

"It's only 7:20. Why did you arrive ten minutes earlier?"

"You know I hate making people wait. Besides, I didn't want to be late to our first date."

"Well, thank you for being on time. "

"You look absolutely great, by the way."

The truth was that Beca wasn't the kind of girl who payed lots of attention to her outfit, but she wanted to look nice for their first date. She ended up picking a white cami top, an army green trench coat, jeans and white sneakers.

"Thanks. You look quite dashing yourself."

He smiled at her, and then handed her the package.

"I brought you a gift. It's not much, but I hope you like it."

She unwrapped it and unveiled a box of chocolate-covered raisins, her favorite candy.

"Oh, yum! How did you know I love raisins?"

"You told me once, while we were having lunch at the dining hall."

"Did I?"

"Yeah. You asked me to get you some from the candy store, and you warned me you could eat three pounds in fifteen minutes."

"How do you remember that stuff? I don't even remember what I ate yesterday."

"I figured I could use that information someday," he said, and shrugged. "Did you like your gift?"

"I loved it! Thank you so much," she said, as she opened the box and pulled out a bunch of raisins. "Want some?"

"No, thanks. Enjoy them by yourself. Shall we go?"

"Sure, let's go."

Waffle House was a small restaurant a couple of blocks away from Georgia State University, in Downtown Atlanta. It wasn't far from Barden, either, so Beca and Jesse decided to walk instead of taking a cab. Once in the diner, Beca didn't know what they were supposed to talk about. Personal stuff? Trivial matters? Political views? Although they already knew it each other pretty well (they had been best friends for months), their relationship was different now, and chances were their conversation topics had changed as well. However, as the evening went by, Beca realized little had changed between them. Jesse was his usual silly and charming, and they sent most of their time at Waffle House arguing about the ICCAs.

"I'm just saying, if Bumper hadn't left, we would have won," Jesse said, as he took a sip from his chocolate milkshake.

"Give me a break," Beca said, while eating a piece of her waffle.

"What, you don't believe me? Okay, let's go over the facts: first, we lost our leader and main arranger Because he abandoned us—"

"Jesse," she interrupted him, "that asshole leaving you was literally the best thing that could ever happen to you."

"Second," he said, ignoring her claim, "we had to change our entire set list; and third, we had to prepare Benji for the competition in less than a week. The odds weren't exactly in our favor, Beca."

"Well, they weren't exactly in our favor, either. I took charge of the Bellas on Monday, which was like, four days before the Finals. We also had to prepare a new set list and a new choreography. If anything, we both went through the same stuff. It's true we didn't lose any members, but still, we didn't have it easy."

"Other reason why you won was Because Aubrey stepped down as leader. You girls didn't stand a chance as long as she was in charge. Giving up that silly whistle was the best decision she ever made."

"You know what? I don't think you are giving me or the other girls enough credit," Beca said, angrily. "If we won, it was Because we earned it. Not Because some idiot screwed you over, but Because we worked hard and we made sacrifices. We were aware that, if we wanted to be champions, our performance had to be perfect. Not good, not excellent; perfect. We did what we had to do to win the competition. I made new arrangements, we changed the outfits, some girls had to learn new stuff for our act to be more attractive… We believed in ourselves, we knew we had a chance at winning and we took it. End of the story."

Beca's little outburst left Jesse speechless, mostly Because had never heard her talk about the Bellas that way before. On the contrary, she had always shown little to no interest in the matter. Now, it seemed as if her profound apathy toward the group had been replaced by a strong sense of loyalty and some sort of newfound 'Bella pride'. It took Jesse completely by surprise.

"I'll be damned," he said, as he crossed his arms and smiled at her. "You have become a true Bella!"

"No, I haven't," she tried to deny it.

"Oh yes, you have!"

"Shut up."

"Make no mistake, I love hearing you defending them. It's just I never thought you'd do it."

As she thought about Jesse's words, Beca took another bite of her waffle.

"Well, I guess I kind of grew fond of them," she admitted, after a while. "They have been really nice to me and they make feel a little less lonely. They also make me crazy from time to time, but they are my friends, and I appreciate them; I love them, actually."

"That's very sweet, Beca. I mean it. I'm glad you are happy of having them in your life."

She made another pause.

"I'm happy of having you in my life, too."

It was the corniest thing she had ever said, but it was true. Jesse and the girls were the best thing that had ever happened to her, and she wanted him to know it. Once again, a smile appeared upon his face. He gently squeezed her wrist, and they continued eating.

They went back to campus as soon as their finished their meal. They reached Baker Hall at 10:30 p.m. Jesse insisted on accompanying Beca to her room, to which she agreed.

"Did you have a good time tonight?" He asked her, once they were outside her dorm.

"I did, actually," she said, and it was true. In Beca's opinion, the date had been a complete success. They had laughed and talked for hours, and Beca's initial fear had quickly vanished thanks to Jesse's dorkiness and easy going attitude. "Although I never expected our first date to be in a diner."

"You can pick up the place for the second one."

"You bet I will," then, she checked the hour on her phone. "It's getting late; you'd better get going."

Out of nowhere, Jesse held her hands.

"Before I go, there's something I'd like to tell you."

"Okay," she said, with curiosity.

"Look, I've been thinking about what you said back in New York, about your past and everything you've gone through."

Beca sighed.

"Jesse, I still don't feel comfortable talking about it—"

"I don't want you to," he reassured her. "Not until you are ready. I know it's hard for you to open up, and like I told you before, I don't want you to feel pressured for anything. On the contrary, I want you to feel safe with me."

Then, he tucked her hair behind her ears.

"The thing I wanted to tell you was that I'll always be here for you. if you ever feel overwhelmed by all the stuff going on in your life, or like the whole world is against you, or if you just need someone to rely on," he smiled. "Anything. I'd never hurt you."

"'Always' and 'never' are two words you shouldn't use, Jesse," she said, to gain some time. However, Jesse wasn't done yet.

"I know, but I don't care. Believe when I tell you there's nothing I wouldn't do for you. I've know it from the moment that we met. I'd go crawling down the avenue all the way back to the diner if you asked me to. Hell, I'd go to the end of the world to show you how important you are to me."

Beca didn't know what to say. She was so used to being alone and feeling unloved, and no one had ever talked to her the way Jesse had. She felt beyond moved by his words, and wasn't sure of what to respond—or if she should respond, at all.

"Why are you telling me this?" She asked him, to gain some time.

"I thought it was something you had to know, that's all."

"Well, thank you for being so sweet," she said, and caressed his face. "I may not be the most expressive girl in the world, but it means a lot to me; it really does."

He kissed her hands, and then her lips. It was a quick one, but somehow it managed to make Beca feel weak in the knees.

After they were done kissing, Beca opened the door to her room and went inside.

"Good night."

"Good night," he answered, and winked at her as she slowly closed the door.