A/N: Hi guys! Here's the next chapter, I hope you enjoy it. This is a very special one for me, so please, if you like it, leave a comment. I would really appreciate it :)

A few days later…

September, 2014

As promised, Jesse drove Beca to her first day of work at Residual Heat. He parked his blue Golf outside the recording studio's medium-sized, white building. He could tell Beca was nervous, although she hadn't said anything during the trip.

"So Lil Wayne's recorded here, huh?" Was the first thing that came into his mind.

"Yeah, and was arrested here twice."

"Really?"

"I can't believe they hired me."

"Of course they did! You rock the party that rocks the body."

She gave him a skeptical look.

"I don't know where to begin with that."

"I stand by it," he simply said, and exited the car. He pulled Beca's computer bag from the back seat, as she gave a quick look at the building.

"So… any first day jitters?"

"No," she said, a little cocky. "I'm just gonna act all moody and distant. Artists love that."

"I know I love that," they both cracked a smile. "Here you go," he said, and handed her the bag. She looked as if she was about to enter the building, but quickly turned to Jesse.

"Dude, why do I feel so guilty? I've given a lot to the Bellas, right? Like, three years of my life."

Jesse knew Beca needed his support, and there was only one thing he could say to make her feel better.

"Yeah, Bec, you should not feel guilty at all for taking your shot!"

Unknown to Beca, he was also speaking to himself.

"This is a big deal, right?" She asked, as he put his hands on her shoulders.

"Yes, this is a very big deal."

She nodded. She kissed him goodbye and headed inside. However, Jesse didn't leave right away.

"Nothing's gonna stop my girl!" He shouted. Beca began walking faster, embarrassed.

"I don't know him!" She yelled, as she turned the corner of the building.

"Becs in effects y'all!"

"You can go now!"

He got back in his car and drove off.

That night was the Trebles' Tiki party. Jesse was looking forward to Beca telling him everything about her first day of work, although he knew she probably wouldn't be able to make it to the party. However, he was also feeling anxious because there was something really important he needed to tell her, the sooner the better, but he didn't know how he was supposed to tell her he had been accepted to USC's Film School, and that he would be leaving for Los Angeles in a few months.

He sent his application on an impulse. He had applied for a full scholarship and never thought they would accept him, and that's why he hadn't said a word to Beca. However, they did accept him, and he was supposed to start next January. Now, January was only four months away, which meant he had to tell Beca as soon as possible about his scholarship and his imminent departure. He figured he had to find a right time to tell her, as it was a very delicate matter. He was confident their relationship would survive, as it would take more than two time zones to break them apart, but he didn't know how Beca would react to him sending his application without telling her first.

They had previously talked about moving together to LA after graduating. Surprisingly, Beca had been the one to bring out the subject. She said she was aware Jesse wanted to go to film school to become a composer, and that she was willing to go with him because living in LA had been a life-long dream for her, and she intended to pursue a career in music production there. They had both agreed to discuss the topic again in the future, when graduation was closer; however, they hadn't talked about it in months, and Jesse was afraid Beca had changed her mind.

He was thinking in all this when he spotted the Bellas entering the house. He thought it was funny that both groups finally got along after years of rivalry. Maybe Jesse and Beca's relationship had something to do with that, plus the fact that they literally lived next door from the other. Of course, they still argued from time to time, but they mostly argued about the boys' pig going to the girls' house just to crap in their backyard and to raid in their trash.

"Bellas!" He greeted them. "Welcome, welcome, welcome!"

"Jesse!" Chloe said, as she waived around her yellow cup. "Where's Beca? I thought she was gonna be with you tonight."

"I thought she was with you."

"I thought she was with you."

Jesse was surprised Chloe didn't know about Beca's whereabouts. Clearly, she hadn't told her best friend about her new job.

"Well, I have no idea where she is. She owes both of us an explanation!" He joked, hoping Chloe wouldn't ask any more questions.

"Yeah, she does," Chloe said, and squinted at Jesse, as if she suspected he was hiding something from her.

"Okay ladies, we've got pizza, beer and more pizza over there, on the picnic table," he said, to deviate Chloe's attention from him. "Suit yourselves, and enjoy the party!"

All the girls dispersed, including Chloe, and Jesse sighed with relief.

I wonder why Beca didn't tell Chloe about her job.

By the time Beca left Residual Heat's offices, she was completely exhausted. She and the other interns had spent the whole day following Sammy (the music producer in charge) around the building, taking notes at everything he said and trying as best as they could not to piss him off –which, apparently, wasn't hard to achieve. Beca had decided her strategy to survive in that place would consist in maintaining a low profile. Thankfully, she was used to that.

She took a cab back to Barden and, for a moment, she thought about skipping the Trebles' party. However, she really wanted to see Jesse and share with him the details of her day. Besides, this would be her last hood night party, and she didn't want to miss it. So, instead of heading to the Bella house, she went over to the boys'.

She found Jesse sitting by himself at the tiki bar.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, as she jumped out from behind him. He startled and almost spilled his drink. "Oh, I'm sorry," she said, and gave him a kiss.

"Hey! You made it!"

"Couldn't miss our last hood night party," she sat in a chair beside him and closed her eyes for a second.

"So… how was the internship?" He urged her.

"Eye opening. They do not mess around!"

"Chloe asked where you were. Why didn't you tell her?"

"Oh, she's just…" She didn't really know how to answer Jesse's question. "She's like, locked into the Worlds right now, and I'm looking for the right time. I'll tell her."

They both looked over at the Bellas, who were dancing by the pool. Jesse nudged her arm.

"You seem tired. Come on, I know exactly what you need after a long day of work," he said, with a smile. They both crossed over to the Bellas, and laughed and sang the night away.

A few hours later, everybody in the party was drunk. However, nobody was as drunk as Chloe. She had cannonballed into the pool and had to be carried back to the Bella house by Cynthia-Rose, Ashley and Jessica.

"I'M OKAAAY!" She yelled, as the three girls struggled to keep her on her feet. "SERIOUSLYYYYYY, I DIDN'T EVEN DRINK THAT MUUUUUUCH!"

"We know you didn't," Cynthia-Rose said.

"I LOOOOVE YOU GIRLS SOOOOO MUCH! I LOOOOVE BEING A BELLA!"

"Are you sure they can handle it?" Jesse asked Beca, as they looked at them from afar. "She can stay here, there's no problem with us."

"Don't worry, they are professionals," Beca said. "Chloe always gets drunk at parties, we are used to it."

He laughed.

"So, see you tomorrow for breakfast?"

"I don't think I can. Before she lost the ability to communicate in a logical way, Chloe said she wanted us to go to the car show."

"For what?"

"She wants to see the German group that will replace us in our victory tour."

"Oh, she wants to scout the competition."

"Yeah. I don't really see the point but…" She shrugged. Chloe's screams could still be heard in the distance. "I'll call you and we'll go to the movies on Friday, okay?"

"Okay," he kissed her. "Good night, and good luck tomorrow."

"Good night."

A few days later...

Beca could hear her phone ringing in her nightstand. However, she was so tired she didn't answer it. Their rival group, Das Sound Machine, turned out to be better than they expected. Chloe wanted the girls to rehearse all weekend, and Beca had stayed up late the previous night working on musical arrangements. However, she wasn't inspired, and hadn't come up with anything for the girls to sing. She knew Chloe would be pissed, but lately, her friend was always pissed.

The phone stopped ringing and Beca tried to fall back asleep, but it was too late; she was already fully awake. She sighed with resignation, and got out of bed. She reached for her phone in her nightstand, and saw she had a missed call from Jesse. She immediately returned his call.

"Hi Becs, good morning."

"Hi, Jess. Sorry I didn't answer before, I was sleeping and didn't hear my phone."

"I figured."

Suddenly, she remembered she was supposed to call Jesse the previous day to go to the movies.

"I'm sorry I forgot to call you yesterday. I had so much to do it slipped my mind."

"It's okay, don't worry," he reassured her. "Listen, what about we spend the day together? We go to IHOP, and watch a movie, and walk around the mall, maybe some ice-cream—"

"I'd love to, Jess, but I'm afraid I can't," she said, with sorrow. "Chloe wants us to rehearse all day and I have to do the arrangements."

"Oh. That sucks."

"But what about we go for dinner tomorrow? We could watch the game at that bar you like."

"We have a gig tomorrow night, I'm sorry."

"A gig? Where?"

"I don't know yet, but I think it's some sort of private party."

She sighed.

"I wonder when we will have a gig again."

"Don't lose hope, Becs. The Bellas will be back on track sooner than you expect."

"I hope so. For the girls' sake and my own."

"I gotta go, but I'll see you on Monday for lunch, okay?"

"Yeah. Have fun at your gig."

"Thanks. I'll call you to give you all the dirty details."

"Please. I feed on them."

"I love you. Bye."

That night, Beca was feeling more satisfied than she had felt in a long time. As she returned home from work, she thought about how much she had achieved during the day. Her boss had finally acknowledged her existence, he had agreed with her idea of transforming Snoop Dogg's boring, unoriginal version of 'Winter Wonderland' into a mashup with 'Here Comes Santa Claus', and had even asked her to show him some of her demos! If everything went out fine, this could definitely help her launch her career. She was young, yes, and it was a competitive business, but she had to start somewhere, and having a talented, world-renowned music producer listening to her job put her one step ahead than most aspiring music producers in the country.

She was thinking in all this when she arrived at the Bella house. When she walked by their mailbox, she noticed there was an envelope on the inside. She took it, and saw 'The Barden Bellas' was marked as the addressee. It seemed as some sort of invitation. She kept it in her purse and headed to the house, but stopped for a brief second before going inside. From what she could see from the yard, the Bellas were having a pillow fight. She entered the house, and the first thing she saw were the feathers floating around in the living room. She couldn't help but smile at the scene. Although she hated pillow fights, the girls seemed happy and relaxed, and as if they were having the time of their lives. They deserved it, after the difficult weeks they had gone through.

"What am I looking at?" She asked, as the fight continued.

"We're pillow fighting!" Fat Amy said, and whacked her with a pillow.

"Ouch!" She exclaimed. "You know this sets back women like, thirty years."

"We're just relieving some stress!" Chloe said, as she jumped up and down in one of the couches.

"This was on the porch," Beca said, as she held up the envelope.

"Oh! What is that? It looks fancy," Chloe grabbed the invitation from Beca. She opened it, and the card made a weird sound, as if it were match pitching. "Looks like we've been invited to sing at some kind of party," She read.

"We're going to sing? Finally!" Emily exclaimed.

"Well, there's just an address and a password."

"How sexy and mysterious!"

"Like how all my teeth are from other people," Lily said, in a whisper.

Next day...

The Bellas hadn't been the only group invited the party, which turned out to be a very special riff-off organized by the National a Cappella Laser Ninja Dragon League. The Tone Hangers, the Green Bay Packers, and the Treblemakers were all there. And, to the girls' annoyance, Das Sound Machine had also been invited. Jesse was surprised to see her, and could notice she was surprised as well, but they were unable to talk until after the riff-off was over.

He looked for her in the crowd, and found her speaking with Chloe and Emily. The Bellas had suffered a very painful defeat against DSM and it had partially been Emily's fault, although he knew Beca would be incapable of blaming her. However, he couldn't say the same thing about Chloe. The redhead seemed angry and, from what Jesse could hear, she was scolding Emily.

"You shouldn't have done that, Emily. Now, DSM thinks that they have the drop on us!"

"I'm sorry, I panicked," Emily said, with real anguish in her voice. "I understand if you want me to crawl under a rock and die."

"Hey, we don't want that," Beca reassured her, and pointed a finger at her best friend. "We don't want that."

Chloe shook her head with disappointment. In that moment, Jesse walked up and gently grabbed Beca by the arm.

"Becs, let's go meet the Green Bay Packers," he said, trying to deviate her attention from the defeat they had suffered.

"Okay!" She said, excited at the thought of meeting the famous players.

After meeting the Packers, they both went to the bar for a drink. Beca asked for a Vodka Gimlet, and Jesse for a beer. They sat as far away as they could from the party that was beginning to take shape, as they both wanted some privacy.

"So, this was the gig you talked about yesterday."

He nodded. "Although I didn't know it was a riff-off, I thought it was a simple party. If I had known, I would have told you."

"I don't care. The only thing that matters is that you are here," she said, and she took a sip from her drink.

"I'm sorry about what happened with Emily."

"Yeah. You know, she's just a kid, she got scared. It can happen to any of us."

Jesse knew she meant what she said. Beca had always been very comprehensive with her girls, and she never blamed them for their mistakes.

"Chloe seemed pretty pissed."

"She has become too competitive, she needs to chill. It's just a riff-off, for God's sake."

"Right."

They finished off their drinks, and looked over at the people dancing and singing over the dance floor.

"Hey, do you wanna get out of here? I'm not particularly in the mood to party."

He looked at her. She seemed exhausted from working all week.

"Sure. Do you wanna have dinner or go to my place to watch a movie?"

"I'd rather go home, I have to work tomorrow."

"But you have worked all week."

"It sucks, I know. Hopefully, it won't always be like this."

"Very well, then. I'll take you home," he said, trying his best not to show up his annoyance. However, Beca knew him too well to notice when something was bothering him.

"I know what you are thinking. That in the two weeks that have passed since I got the job we hadn't spent time with each other. That bothers me, too. But don't be mad, Jess. Winter break is coming, so we are gonna have a lot of time to spend together. I promise."

Jesse was surprised Beca had read his mind so well. Her communication skills had significantly improved in the three years he had of knowing her.

"I'm just concerned that you are putting too much pressure on yourself, Becs. You have school, you have your job, you have the Worlds—"

"I know, I know, but I will find a way to balance all this."

"You could start by telling the girls about Residual Heat. That way, maybe they could release you from some of your duties as a Bella."

"I will tell them, okay? Just, not now. You saw them, they are a mess. They need time to recover from this."

"Okay. You know them better than I do," he finished off his beer. "Come on, I'll take you home."

A month and a half later…

October, 2014

As promised, Beca gave her boss some of her demos for him to listen. However, almost two whole months had gone by and he still hadn't made a single comment about them. Every time he and Beca crossed paths, he was either in a hurry or speaking in his phone or dealing with some high-class artist in his office. Beca was getting impatient, and although she knew he was a busy man, she wondered how much time did he need to listen to a few demos and give her feedback.

While she waited for Sammy's verdict, Beca decided to try and learn as much as she could at Residual Heat, mostly by playing close attention to everything her boss or other music producers said, researching about new techniques and perfecting her skills every day after work. After all, that's why she had applied for the position in the first place: to learn.

However, her decision of focusing in her internship had its side effects: Chloe had booked a gig for the Bellas for the first week of January, and although that was still a couple of months away, they needed to rehearse and set everything up. Unfortunately, she had no inspiration for the arrangements, and she really needed to come up with something soon. There was also school, and the fact that she had missed the Hybrid Recording and Mixing class three times in one week. Her teacher was nice, but strict; if she missed one more, she would be at risk of failing the course. Beca was not a model student, but she had never failed a class before, and she didn't want this to be the first.

And then, there was the Jesse issue. She hadn't seen him in over three weeks, and although they talked almost every day, it wasn't the same. She was so busy she didn't have time to go to the movies with him or for drinks, and whenever she had some free time to spend with him he had a class or a gig with the boys, and she feared their relationship was getting strained. The worst part was that Christmas break was more than a month, and Beca was counting down the days. The only thing she wanted in that moment was to spend some quality time Jesse, and a break from her job and the Bellas.

Although it was Halloween, Jesse's favorite holiday, he had other things in mind that prevented him from enjoying the day. For starters, he still hadn't told Beca about his move to LA, and the fact that he was hiding such important news from her was making him anxious. He had tried to talk to her on several occasions, but she was always busy or on her way to work. He was aware her career had become her priority. Beca had ambitions, and she had already waited too long to pursue them. He understood her perfectly, although he couldn't help feeling sad because, for better or for worse, their relationship was changing.

"Jesse, are you okay?" Benji asked him, as they cleaned the pool.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

"Seriously? Because you seem a little off."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because I've been talking to you for ten minutes and you haven't said anything yet. I bet you weren't even listening."

"I'm sorry, Benji. I just have a lot of things in my mind right now."

"Problems with Beca?"

"How do you know?"

"I'm pretty observant," Benji said, proudly. "Although I guessed you were having problems because I haven't seen her around here lately."

"I wouldn't say we are having 'problems'. I… I don't even know what's happening with us. It's complicated."

"Why? What's wrong?"

Jesse looked at his best friend. Benji was such a nice guy, sweet and considerate, and he was smarter than most people gave him credit for. If there was someone who could help him with his situation, it was him.

"I need to tell you something I haven't told anybody. Not even Beca."

"I thought you guys didn't have any secrets."

"I do now. I've been keeping this from her for nearly three months, and it's killing me. I need to tell her, but I don't know how."

"What is it?"

"I got accepted into USC's Film School. I'm set to start in January."

Benji looked at him with his eyes wide open.

"Oh my God. Congratulations, man, that's fantastic!" He said, and patted him in the back. Jesse forced a smile.

"I'm afraid I'm not as happy as I thought I would be."

"Well, it's your dream, isn't it? Going to Film School, becoming a famous composer."

"Unfortunately, these are not the best circumstances."

"Why? And what does Beca have to do with this? She doesn't want you to go or—" In that moment, it all became clear for Benji. "Oh, she doesn't know you are leaving. That's what you are hiding from her!"

Jesse looked down, ashamed.

"Yeah."

"But why? Why haven't you told her?"

"I've been waiting for the right time, but things haven't been the same between us for a while. She's been so busy with the Worlds and her jo… classes," he stopped himself before revealing Beca's secret. "This is a delicate matter, I don't wanna make things worse than they already are."

Benji shook his head.

"Jesse, you have to tell her. She is your girlfriend, this is the kind of stuff you must share with her. I mean, you know Beca better than I do, but I'm pretty sure she won't be happy when she finds out you've been hiding this from her."

"You think I don't know that?" Jesse snapped at Benji. "This is my relationship we are talking about. I don't wanna loose her, that's why I'm so afraid of telling her!"

"You are right, it's your relationship. But the longer you wait, the harder it will be for you to tell her."

Jesse didn't say anything. Instead, he sighed and covered his face with his hands.

"I promised I would never hurt her," he said, after a while. "When we first started dating. I don't think she will ever forgive me for lying to her."

"I'm sure that you said that wholeheartedly, but life takes many turns."

"Yeah, but that doesn't change the fact that I failed her. She will never forgive me."

Benji leaned forward on his seat.

"Look, man; I'm happy for you. I really am. But you need to tell Beca as soon as possible. Otherwise, she's gonna keep thinking everything's fine between you two, when it clearly isn't. Listen to me, you can't keep this from her anymore."

"I know. I promise I will tell her."

Jesse tried to tell Beca the truth during the girls' Halloween party. However, he completely forgot it was tradition that the leader would act as main host, and Beca spent most of the night receiving the guests and organizing the costume contest. Every time they were alone, one of the Bellas appeared out of nowhere and took her away, much to his dismay. He waited for her all night, but he never found the right time to tell her the important news.

A few days later…

November, 2014

So little to say but so much time

Despite my empty mouth

The words are in my mind

Please wear the face

The one where you smile

Because it'll lighten up my heart

When I start to cry

Forgive me first love

But I'm tired

I need to get away

To feel again

Try to understand why

Don't get so close to change my mind

Please wipe that look out of your eyes

It's bribing me to doubt myself

Simply it's time...

That morning, Beca was awaken by Fat Amy's loud snores. She was surprised to see her friend was sleeping, because she was supposed to be in class. Beca looked at her phone and understood the reason why Fat Amy was still in bed although it was a Thursday. It turns out it was a Friday, which meant she was the one skipping school.

She slapped her forehead.

Shit, my class!

She was supposed to be in Hybrid Recording and Mixing class. It was the fourth time in the semester she skipped it; one more strike and she would fail the curse, which she couldn't allow to happen.

In that moment, her phone started ringing. It was Jesse, so she answered right away.

"Hi Jess, good morning."

"Hi, Becs. Are you busy?"

"No, not at all. What's up?"

"Do you think you can come over, please? I need to talk to you."

"Sure. When?"

"As soon as possible. Well, after your class is finished, of course."

"I can go right now, I have the time."

"You are not in class?"

"Nope."

"Why?"

"I overslept."

"That's odd. Did you stay up late last night?"

"Yeah, I was working on some stupid arrangements. Whatever."

"You shouldn't push yourself too much, Beca."

"I know, but I had to work during the weekend and I had no time to do it before."

"You worked during the weekend?"

"Didn't I tell you?"

"We haven't talked since the Halloween party. That was one week ago."

"Oh," it was true. "Anyway, if you are not busy right now, I can be in the house in five minutes."

"Okay. I'll be waiting for you."

She quickly changed her clothes and crossed the yard that separated both houses. She knocked three times on the door, and Jesse opened it almost immediately. Apparently, there was nobody else home.

"Hey," she said, after she gave him a quick kiss. "Are you alone?" She asked, just to corroborate.

"I am. I asked the guys to give us some privacy. I don't want anybody to interrupt us."

"How mysterious!" She joked, but there was something about Jesse's expression that wiped the smile off her face. He seemed serious and, to some extent, concerned. She had never seen him like that. "Is something wrong? You seem… worried."

He began rubbing his hands together, something he always did when he was nervous. He knew the sooner he dropped the bomb, the better.

"I have some important news that I need to share with you."

"They don't seem good from the look on your face."

"They are good, I think. I hope," he took a deep breath. "I got accepted into USC's Film School."

She looked at him, astonished.

"What?"

"I got accepted into USC's Film School," he slowly repeated. "I'm going to study music to become a composer."

"USC? As in University of Southern California?"

"Yeah."

"Oh, wow," she said, clearly in shock. "I— I was not expecting that. You didn't tell me you sent your application. When did you?"

"Over the summer. I didn't tell you because I applied for a scholarship, and I thought they wouldn't accept me. But they did."

"Um… okay. Congratulations, I guess," she said, although Jesse knew she didn't mean it. There was an awkward silence. "So, what happens now?" He didn't answer. "Will you drop out of Barden?"

"Well, not exactly; I will graduate early."

"When will you… leave?"

"In three weeks, after the semester's done."

Beca's face turned white. She slumped onto the sofa and covered her face with her hands. Jesse looked at her, mortified.

"Becs, I'm so sorry," he said, as he sat beside her and put his arm around her shoulders. There were so many things he wanted to tell her, but he couldn't find the right words. "But this is something I must do. Please, try to understand me. I must follow my passion, and I won't be able to do it if I stay here."

She slowly took her hands off her face, and Jesse noticed she hadn't shed a single tear. She seemed sad and terribly disappointed at the same time.

"Please don't look at me like that," he begged her. Beca's stare was so intense he feared she would make him change his mind. "Please, I'm begging you. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, but I didn't want to worry you. It was never my intention to cause you pain."

"When did you find out you had been accepted?" She asked him, coldly. He felt his heart crumble into a million pieces.

There it is. The question I was so afraid to answer.

"Three months ago."

In that moment, any trace of sadness and disappointment disappeared from Beca's blue eyes. It was replaced by another feeling, much stronger and intense.

Anger.