I've been trying to hold myself back from updating everyday because *spoilers* I even included a riff off. No, it's not in this chapter but I mean you're welcome
The Bellas were up that Friday morning at the same time they got up for their rehearsal, but this time, they were more excited than usual, because they were leaving for their spring break camp. Everybody piled into the bus, putting their stuff inside. Aubrey and Chloe were the last ones to get in, both standing in the front.
"Alright girls, we're finally here! This is going to be an exciting week! Before we leave, I just wanna say, I hope everyone packed enough workout clothes, the performance costumes and bathing suits, we will be doing some activities involving water," Aubrey said.
Everyone cheered.
"As to our lodging, there will be cabins for four people so this is how we'll do," Aubrey looked down at her paper, "Chloe, Flo, Stacie and I will stay in one, Fat Amy, Beca and Emily will stay in another and Jessica, Ashley, Cynthia Rose and Lily will stay in another."
"Do I have to share a room with Emily?" Fat Amy asked.
"Yes, Amy, you do," Aubrey said. "We are in an uneven number."
Fat Amy groaned, making some girls giggle while Aubrey rolled her eyes.
"Alright aca-bitches, buckle up and let's go!" Aubrey said and everyone cheered before they went off.
A couple hours later, they arrived at this camp that was already full of people, all a cappella teams.
"Wow, I feel like I'm in The Parent Trap," Flo said.
"My childhood dream," Stacie said. "This is gonna be so much fun!"
"Girls, grab your bags and follow me, I will take us to our cabins, they're right next to each other!" Aubrey announced.
The Bellas arrived at their cabins, they were lined up close together. Aubrey, Chloe, Stacie and Flo all got in and made themselves comfortable.
"This is so cozy!" Stacie looked around.
"Feels like childhood again," Chloe said.
"My childhood was spent amongst chickens but this is much better," Flo said.
"We have a couple hours until lunch, I think I'm going to take a little nap," Stacie said, sitting on a bed she chose to be hers, across from Aubrey's bed.
"That's not a bad idea," Chloe said.
"Better enjoy a couple hours before I have to hear complaints from someone who's too small to be that annoying," Aubrey said, sitting down.
"Hey!" Flo said, offended.
"Not you, Flo," Aubrey said.
"We all know who you're talking about," Stacie said. "Beca."
"You said annoying? Might wanna say puta," Flo said.
"She got on my nerves about that window thing," Chloe said. "You would think she'd have some consideration for her housemates!"
"Chloe, wake up! Beca Mitchell has no consideration, feelings, much less a heart!" Stacie said.
"Come on, Stace, everyone has feelings," Chloe said.
"Yeah, everyone does, but Beca's not everyone," Stacie said.
"Chlo, she's obnoxious, lazy and rude," Aubrey said. "So yeah, basically, a bitch who I wish I could kick out of the Bellas."
"Guys, everyone has a good side," Chloe said. "I bet you I can find Beca's."
"Good luck," Flo said and Stacie scoffed.
Chloe got up while the other girls made themselves comfortable. Stacie and Flo were about to take a nap while Aubrey, if Chloe knew her well enough, was going to organize herself for the next 9 and a half days.
The redhead got into a pair of shorts and sneakers, put her hair up in a ponytail, put some bug spray on, grabbed her phone and left the cabin. She went to the last cabin, which she knew was Fat Amy, Emily and Beca's and she walked up the three steps to the small porch and knocked on the door.
Fat Amy opened the door and was happy to see Chloe.
"Are you here to tell me you're getting rid of Legacy?" she asked.
"Hey!" Emily shouted from the inside.
"No, Amy," Chloe said with a roll of her eyes. "I came here to ask if Beca would like to go on a walk with me?"
Fat Amy and Emily turned to the small brunette, who was already on her computer. She looked up and waited a moment before frowning in confusion.
"Why?" she asked.
"Well, I'd like to get to know the camp," Chloe said.
"But why me?" Beca asked.
"Because I don't think you and I have ever spent much time alone," Chloe said. "And I wanna apologize for the way I spoke to you this Wednesday."
Beca didn't move and Chloe thought she'd dismiss her but to her surprise, she got up, grabbed her phone and walked out the door. She had changed into a white tank top and blue shorts.
"Well, like I said, I wanna apologize for the way I talked to you, I was frustrated because you were the only one who wasn't helping," Chloe said.
"Okay," Beca said with a weird look, as if she still didn't get what she was doing there.
"And I wanted to get to know you better," Chloe said. "Like how many siblings do you have?"
"I have an older brother," Beca said.
Chloe waited but Beca never asked her anything in return. Before speaking again, Chloe saw a sign approaching and smiled when she saw there was a trail to their right.
"Wanna go for a hike?" she asked.
"Dude, that's an hour long," Beca said. "I thought we were going for a short walk!"
"Come on, hikes are fun and we still have a little less than two hours before lunch," Chloe said. "Don't you wanna enjoy some time before having Aubrey take us to our activities?"
Beca thought for a while.
"Alright, let's go," she said, going forward. Chloe smiled and followed suit.
"So you're from Georgia?" Chloe asked.
"Yep. Born and raised," Beca said.
"Okay, Beca I gotta ask you something," Chloe said, watching out for the signs and seeing the sign that marked the beginning of the trail. "You don't really seem to like a cappella so much and you always have an attitude, I'm curious, why are you still on the Barden Bellas?"
Beca was a little caught off guard with that question.
"Ah, I wanted to get to know other people," Beca said.
"So why are you rude to us sometimes?" Chloe asked and Beca didn't seem to be able to find an answer, so she continued, "You know some of the girls call you Heartless Beca?"
"Yeah,"
"Call me stupid but I like to believe everyone has a good side and it bothers me having the girls call you that," Chloe said.
"What's your question?" Beca looked at her.
"My question is why don't you wanna open up to us? I don't think you're that tough for no reason, it must be really lonely," Chloe said.
Beca shrugged.
"I promise you'll really enjoy it," Chloe said. "Like if you tell me something you can be sure I won't tell the other girls unless you say it's okay."
Beca looked at her skeptically.
"It's true!" Chloe said.
The girls had to walk behind each other because the trail got too narrow and they both started going uphill.
"So you want me to share my secrets with you?" Beca asked, going ahead of Chloe.
"Well, not if you don't want to, I just wish I could get to know you," Chloe said. "And I'm just saying you don't have to be afraid of me telling the other girls."
"You do seem to be the only one of them who doesn't gossip," Beca said, thinking.
"I don't," Chloe said. "I had that happen to me once, it was horrible."
Beca looked back at her, stopping for a moment.
"You did?" she asked, they both took a little break before continuing. "When?"
"Yeah," Chloe said. "I'll tell you if you tell me a story, too."
"Alright," Beca said.
"So I was 17, I went out once with this guy and he kept bugging me to send him a nude picture," Chloe said.
"And you did?!"
"Of course not!" Chloe said. "But he got a picture of a girl showing her boobs without her face showing and he spread it to the entire school saying it was me. I told him to tell everyone the truth but he said he'd only do that if he got a peak of my boobs."
"Ugh, what a jerk!"
"I know! Anyway, we filed a complaint and he served some time and paid a fine for doing that but the story never got clear until my Senior Year," Chloe said. "So no, I don't gossip. Or try no to, at least."
"Fair enough," Beca said.
"Now it's your turn," Chloe said. They were no longer going uphill but they were starting to get to a clearing, the altitude was a little higher, some of the camp was visible as they got closer to it.
"Okay," Beca said, thinking as they walked closer to the view, seeing a river. "Wow!"
The two stopped for a moment to appreciate the view and catch their breaths.
"Now your turn," Chloe said with a smile.
Beca thought, looking at the view while Chloe watched her, anxiously waiting.
"Why don't you tell me the story of your scar?" Chloe asked.
"There's not much to it, it was an unfortunate accident involving a campfire. A friend dared me to jump over it and I did, but tripped on the landing and fell back first in the fire," Beca said.
"Ouch," Chloe said.
"Yeah," Beca said. "Does that count as a story?"
"No, that was too short," Chloe said and chuckled when Beca groaned.
"Alright," she sighed. "Well when I was 14 years old I slept over at my friend's house but I forgot to tell my parents so my mom had the police involved, the next morning when I came home, she made me apologize to them and I was grounded for my entire summer vacation."
"Oh dang!" Chloe said.
"Yeah, well she did call the police," Beca shrugged. "I sort of wasted their time."
"That's true," Chloe said and sighed. "Let's start getting back."
They continued on the trail, going downhill this time, back in the woods.
"You said there'd be alcohol in here right?" Beca asked.
"Yes, tonight we'll have our first party! You know, welcome party, mingling with the other groups," Chloe said.
"Finally, I need some drinks," Beca said.
"Me too," Chloe said. "You know, this was fun, Beca. Thanks for sharing a bit of your life with me."
Chloe smiled and Beca looked back, giving her a small smile back.
"Well thanks, that was fun," Beca said before looking back at the way ahead. "That worked up my appetite."
"Oh tell me about it!" Chloe said.
A comfortable silence fell upon them as they continued their hike. Chloe accidentally slipped on a log and felt herself falling forward. Since it was downhill, she hit Beca and they both tumbled down until they hit a tree.
"Ow!" Beca said. "Dude!"
"Ow, sorry, I tripped!" Chloe said, getting off of Beca and standing up, dusting herself off. "My ankle!"
"You okay?" Beca asked, standing up.
"Yeah," Chloe said, moving her ankle from side to side until she was able to put pressure on it. "What about you? You're bleeding!"
Beca looked at her arms and noticed her left arm had a deep cut and blood was just starting to drop.
"I must've hit a rock or something," she said. "You sure you're okay to walk?"
"Yeah, I'm fine, what about your arm, that must sing!" Chloe said.
"It's fine, I'll clean it up when we get back," Beca said, getting back on the trail.
Chloe followed her but the blood starting to drop from her arm was starting to bug her. Fortunately, they weren't far and pretty soon were back to the brunette's cabin.
"I'll help you," she said as they went in. Every cabin had a small first aid kit on a shelf and Chloe was quick to grab it. Fat Amy was sleeping while Emily was taking notes on a notebook when the two made it back. The taller brunette quickly jumped from her bed at the sight of blood.
"What happened?" she asked.
"We went on a hike and tripped," Chloe said.
Beca sat on her bed and the redhead opened the first aid kit box, getting some gauze and some antiseptic spray. She used the cause to clean up some of the blood before grabbing the spray.
"Alright, this might sting a bit," she said, spraying the entire wound but Beca didn't flinch. She then cleaned the rest of the blood, relieved when the wound turned out to be not as deep as she initially thought. A larger band aid would do.
"Thanks," Beca said with a small smile when Chloe was done. She collected the trash and threw it away.
"You're welcome," she said with a smile. "Now you guys better get ready for lunch."
The two brunettes nodded and Chloe was gone.
oO0Oo
"Okay, tell me again?" Aubrey asked Chloe in a low voice at their table during lunch, making the redhead groan before giggling.
"I told you, I tripped, took us both down, I hurt my ankle and she hurt her arm and I was surprised that she seemed to be more interested in helping me than tending to her own wound," Chloe said.
"I still can't believe it," Aubrey said.
"I told you everyone has a good side," Chloe said.
The a cappella groups were all in the cafeteria eating lunch, all sitting with their respective group mates. The Bellas already met some of them. They were lucky the Treblemakers weren't there yet, they weren't such fans of the boys.
After lunch, Aubrey reunited the girls in front of their cabins to discuss their afternoon activities. First was a few activities involving all the other groups, so two camp counselors stood in front of the groups and explained, each explained to two groups so everyone could hear.
"Alright people, we will start with some trust exercises within the groups," the woman counselor said to the Bellas and another coed group. "First, we will do an obstacle course in pairs, one person will be blindfolded while the other will guide them through the obstacles."
"Oh, blindfolds? I usually use that in bed, but there's only one obstacle," Stacie whispered to Chloe with a smirk.
"The captains will divide the pairs within their group and start the activity. Remember the make sure everyone gets a turn to guide and to be guided!" the counselor said.
"We will start by having roommates and one of you will go with Emily," Aubrey said, reuniting the girls in a circle.
"I can do it," Chloe volunteered, making the younger girl smile at her in appreciation.
They went 3 by three on the course, taking turns. Beca started being guided and then guided Fat Amy successfully. Chloe was guided by Aubrey, then guided Emily, who guided Aubrey.
Once they were done, the girls just waited for the other groups to finish and, once they did, the counselors approached the group once again.
"Our next exercise is for the whole team, let's stay in a circle," the woman once again said and everyone did. "Now everyone join their right hands with someone standing opposite of them,"
The girls were confused but did as they were told. Chloe was surprised when Beca grabbed her right hand pretty much right away, which didn't go unnoticed by Aubrey.
"Now the left, it has to be a different person," the counselor said.
The girls all did again and the mess of hands in the middle was an interesting sight.
"Now we have to unravel the knot without breaking contact!" the counselor said.
"That's nuts!" Cynthia Rose said.
"That's okay, we'll just go one at a time," Stacie said.
"No, we can't do that, each person is connected to two others," Ashley said.
"Okay, let's take it slowly," Aubrey said. "Fat Amy, you start trying to unravel."
Fat Amy did but Lily had to go under and they were practically glued together. Next Stacie moved and she was almost in the center.
As the girls moved, they were giggling and laughing as they tried to unravel. Sometimes they let go by accident but were quick to join hands again.
Beca was between Jessica, Ashley and Chloe, who was standing in front of her with Beca's right arm around her. It was pretty hard not to get close to someone but Chloe noticed the brunette didn't seem to be complaining.
As their knot started unravelling, the girls noticed they were forming a bigger circle. The final twist was Chloe unravelling and they all cheered.
"Great job, aca-bitches!" Aubrey said.
The other teams finished about the same time as the Bellas and the counselors said they had about 30 minutes to change into clothes they could get wet because they had an activity in the lake and the other groups were as excited as the Bellas.
"I'm excited to see that Zac Efron wannabe from the first group over there with no shirt," Stacie whispered to Aubrey and Chloe, nodding towards a dirty blonde, blue eyed guy from one of the other groups.
"We probably won't interact with the other groups just yet, Stacie," Aubrey reminded her.
"I wonder what they'll have us do," Chloe said.
"I hope I get a chance to pretend to drown so I can get that guy to do mouth to mouth," Stacie wiggled her brows.
"So if he can't swim, you'll have to play dead," Chloe said, making Stacie rethink her plan. "Why don't you just wait for tonight to talk to him?"
"That sounds like a better idea," Stacie said.
The girls changed into bikinis and shorts, some even put on shirts over their bikini tops, not really wanting to be seen in bikinis just yet. And they also had to think they didn't know the activity they were going to be required to do, sometimes a bikini wasn't the best idea. No one wanted to have a nip slip in front of the other groups.
Chloe, Stacie, Flo, Jessica, Beca and Lily were holding their shirts as they followed the camp counselors to the lake. The others were wearing shorts and shirts.
Stacie stopped while the other girls walked, making Aubrey and Chloe look at her weirdly.
"Wait, I just have to tie my shoe," she said. "I think there's a pebble in it."
"Ugh," Aubrey said as she waited for the girl to finish.
As they waited, Beca and Fat Amy passed by them and the tall brunette couldn't help but gasp as she got a glimpse of the scars across Beca's back.
"Holy shit, what happened to you?" Stacie said.
The girls all stopped and looked at Stacie, all wondering who she was talking to.
"Beca, what's with your back?" Stacie asked, making herself clear.
Beca rolled her eyes but ignored her. Chloe only then got to see just how serious her scars were, they were consistent with someone falling in a fire.
"It's none of your business, boobs," Beca said.
Stacie was taken aback by her answer, she crossed her arms as she eyed the brunette as she continued walking.
"I guess these are those birthmarks every Satan minion has, right?" she said with a smirk.
"Yeah, that's why your mom has them too!" Beca said without stopping.
Chloe and Aubrey had to hold Stacie back from jumping at the girl's throat. They held her for a while and tried to calm her before they were sure she wouldn't go after the girl.
"Can't you just kick her the fuck out?!" Stacie said to Aubrey. "Seriously, anyone else would be better!"
"You think she'd still be here if I could kick her out?" Aubrey raised an eyebrow.
Stacie simply groaned as they continued. The taller brunette glared at Beca all the way, even knowing she couldn't see her.
oO0Oo
Arriving at the river, they saw four rubber matts, probably around 20 feet long and tied by something because they weren't floating away. The teams were all given life jackets and were told they had to get through the matts without falling in the water, if they did, they'd have to get back to the start. They knew this was simply about having fun and enjoying the warm weather.
"Okay, I think Beca should go first," Stacie said, surprising everyone, including the little brunette.
"Why's that?" Aubrey asked.
"Because if she's at the far end, she can't 'accidentally' drown someone," Stacie used air quotes and offered the brunette a tight smile.
"I don't mind going first," Beca shrugged and went first.
To the girls' surprise, nothing major happened, despite Stacie's initial fear that Beca was planning on drowning one of the girls. The girls all laughed and had fun, the initial tension dissipated quickly.