A/N: This follows the prologue at the beginning. These next few chapters will be flashbacks.

*CW: Gun Violence

Barden University

Senior Year

2012

Thighs clamped around Chloe's head until the body connected to her mouth went stiff. The ginger kissed her way up the woman's body until her head appeared from under the sheets, and Chloe greeted her girlfriend with a devious smile. She weaved her head before finally sneak attacking her girlfriend with a sensual kiss.

"You got a gig tonight?" Holly asked.

"Uh-huh," Chloe settled into the woman's side. It was her favorite part about sex, the cuddles afterward. Four years ago, she would've laughed if someone suggested she'd acclimate to college life and romance.

But Holly Randall, god damn, she was a walking talking curveball.

Chloe never thought she was interested in girls, but one girl in her science class exuded a swagger and confidence Chloe couldn't help but find infectious. It took two months to work up the courage to ask her out on a date, but Chloe finally sacked up, and they haven't looked back since.

As far as Chloe was concerned, Holly might even be "The One."

"You should come see us," Chloe pouted.

"Aww babe, rain check. You know I have a chem final to study for."

"I know," Chloe kissed her girlfriend.

"Besides I know one thing for sure," Holly said, and Chloe looked at her expectantly. "No venue will ever be able to contain your sexiness."

Chloe laughed. "You say the sweetest things."

Holly shifted so she could settle into her girlfriend even more. "Think we have time for a round two?" she asked.

Chloe shook her head.

This time Holly threw a playful pout.

Chloe's eyes darkened, and she pulled Holly in for a deep kiss. "I'd rather wait. You know how I get after I perform," her voice dropped, low and authoritative.

On the drive to the venue, Chloe smiled as she thought back to how far she'd come along. College was the absolute last thing she ever thought she would love, but her mom was right. These four years ended up being the best of her life.

City lights grew more abundant as Chloe approached downtown Atlanta. Watching college students on their weekend club crawls and couples enjoying the nightlife brought warmth to Chloe. Minutes later she spotted the nightclub and pulled into the back parking lot.

Getting out of her car Chloe waved to her band-mates before retrieving her guitar case from the trunk.

She couldn't believe there was a time when she didn't think she would like or trust them.

Fall 2008

Freshman year

Chloe walked into the rehearsal space with her Epiphone tucked safely inside of its case. She looked around, mildly surprised because she expected a line of people. What she found was a bland room sparsely populated with half a dozen or so dudes packing up their equipment. Chloe could tell from their body language that most of them were upset they probably weren't going to get the gig.

"Can we help you?" one of the men with a guitar plugged into an amplifier, asked.

"I'm here to audition," Chloe said.

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing. All eyes were on her.

"We're looking for someone a little older," someone said behind a drum kit.

"And someone…not like…you," another guy said.

"A girl," Chloe said. She placed her hands on her hips. "You weren't expecting a girl. You are all grown men, you can say it to my face."

"Sweetheart-," the one with the guitar began, but Chloe cut him off.

"Chloe. My name is Chloe," she asserted.

"My bad. I'm Jamie. And our band is called Cheetah Kill."

Chloe gave a curt nod in acknowledgment.

"Play the opening riff to Panama!" one of the guitarists shouted, elbowing Jamie in the rib while chuckling.

"Fuck you guys. I'm out of here," Chloe turned to walk away.

"Wait!" Jamie shouted. "Give us another chance, please. I promise they'll behave.

Chloe's body relaxed, and she sighed. "They better."

"Uhh right, so just plug in I guess, and wait for us," Jamie said.

Chloe plugged her guitar in and then waited impatiently, never once dropping the stern look she was giving the men.

Jamie and the rest of the band began jamming. Chloe struggled to find her footing, but after a minute she eased into it.

To an outside observer, Chloe might not have been the best or the most technically proficient guitarist they'd auditioned that day, but when the band played with her, there was great chemistry. The ginger possessed a latent talent, there was no doubt about it. Jamie and the rest of Cheetah Kill recognized that with Chloe they might become an even greater force to be reckoned with than they were with their previous guitar player. If only the gig wasn't temporary.

"That was something else," Jamie said once the jamming session concluded, even the other band members agreed. "Thank you so much."

A hesitant Chloe left them her phone number as well as her MySpace handle.

It paid off three days later when she got the phone call letting her know she got the gig. Jamie sent her sheets of music so Chloe could rehearse their songs, and scheduled a few in-person practice sessions.

Chloe thought she'd reached cloud nine. Once everything was settled she phoned her parents and Clara to tell them the news. And also that she'd be driving home over the weekend to pick up her Washburn. Her "good" guitar. Her only other guitar beside her Epiphone and her acoustic.

Three weeks later Chloe sat on her bed staring at the money in her hand with disbelief.

Her first paid gig. And it was awesome.

Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes. She wanted to celebrate, to treat herself. Ideas shuffled through her mind, ranging from taking herself out to a fancy dinner to buying a good amp.

Maybe now she felt confident enough to ask the pretty girl in her science class out on a date?

"You'll never guess what happened?!" Chloe burst through the door of Holly's room.

"You won the lottery? Or a lifetime supply of Ramen?" Holly deadpanned.

Chloe rolled her eyes. "No. Remember how we're supposed to be seeing Heart in a couple of weeks?"

Holly threw Chloe a cautious glance. "Yeah," she said. It wasn't something she was super thrilled about. Holly liked the song Barracuda, but that was about it. Concert dates were more Chloe's thing. During their sophomore year, Chloe dragged her to see KISS at the Phillips Arena; she had to stand by and watch while Chloe geeked out and nearly went into a full-blown nerd meltdown when she finally got to meet and get a photo with Paul Stanley and the rest of the band as part of a meet and greet package. Holly felt like a third wheel.

If Holly was being honest, the feeling that she was losing her girlfriend started the summer before that concert when Chloe woke up to a text from her sister telling her to look online. KISS was releasing a new studio album, their first in over a decade. Something they previously swore they'd never do again. Sonic Boom was all Chloe could talk about for months.

Then there was the time they were visiting Chloe's parents in Tampa. A peaceful little getaway, or at least it was until Chloe surprised her with last-minute tickets to see Aerosmith. The next thing Holly knew, she was being whisked off to some amphitheater.

Any date with Chloe was a great time. Holly just wished she shared her girlfriend's passion for rock and roll. The post-date sex always made up for it though. At least for a while.

"One of their reps was in the audience. They want us to open for them!" Chloe squealed. "I'm going to meet Nancy and Ann Wilson!"

"But we were supposed to see them together. In the audience, you know, as a date."

Chloe frowned. "I know babe, but we'll still be able to. I'll just be on stage and then afterward I'll join you and then we can watch the show."

"I suppose," Holly said.

"Honey, what's wrong?" Chloe sat next to her on the bed. She wrapped an arm around her and then pulled her girlfriend into a side hug.

"I don't like this Chloe."

"Oh Hol," she comforted her girlfriend. "Everything's gonna work out. I just know it."

"I feel like I'm losing you," Holly said.

Chloe's hold on her girlfriend loosened and she let go entirely to face her. "Why?"

"I just don't want you to lose sight of what's important. You work too hard."

"I know. But just like, trust me, babe. I've got it all under control," she said softly.

Deciding to drop it Holly changed the subject to Chloe's earlier promise. "So, now that your show's over whaddya say about that round two?"

Chloe smirked. "Thought you'd never ask," she settled under the covers and into Holly's side, making cute little moans and puffs as her girlfriend slid her hands up Chloe's shirt.

Cheetah Kill spent weeks rehearsing for their big opportunity. Chloe found herself spending less and less time with her girlfriend and more time at their rehearsal space. Wailing and strumming away until her fingers were practically calloused. Her brain danced around two burning questions: Does she stick to the material as is or should she throw in her unique spin on the licks and riffs to impress the Wilson sisters?

Integrity or ambition?

Chloe was technically an employee for Cheetah Kill since she replaced the original guitarist who never got his shit together, never bothered to get on any kind of wagon. Chloe was grateful every day that the band called her back a couple of weeks after her first gig with them.

If she lacked integrity then word would get out and the college student could kiss goodbye any chance of being a professional guitar player.

When the day of the gig arrived Chloe was on a razor's edge all day. Her thoughts were in the clouds, so much so that it was a miracle that the student made it through her classes. Deciding what to wear was a nightmare and Chloe had to break down and ask her girlfriend's opinion.

Holly chose a wonderful black blouse and dark blue jeans for their date. She looked in the mirror and smiled, it wasn't often your partner got to open for a legendary rock band. Tonight she was determined to not let this night get her down like their concert dates in the past. Holly loaded a couple of last-minute items into her purse, grabbed her keys, left her dorm room, and headed outside to meet her ride-share.

The Fox Theater ended up being better than Chloe could've imagined. Tears fell down her cheeks when she saw their band's name in small letters flash up on the marquee.

Chloe was opening for Heart.

A band that has sold over thirty million albums worldwide and inspired so many girls to play guitar.

Her hard work was paying off.

She didn't even notice the lid of the trunk as it almost hit her in the head since she couldn't take her eyes off of the marquee. Jamie had to pull the college student out of her reverie. "You're here Chloe. This is happening," he smiled.

"It doesn't feel real," she looked around.

"It is, and you've earned it", her band-mates all put their hands on her shoulder.

They posed for obligatory selfies in front of the theater, both individually, and together as a band. Most of them were goofy, a few were serious for the sake of posterity and, if they were being honest, a clout boost. No doubt they'd all be uploading the photos to their personal and professional social media pages.

The band was settling into the "green room" when something happened for Chloe. Something nearly a decade in the making.

"Good luck out there," a voice said.

Chloe looked up and felt her breath leave her body. An older woman with strawberry blonde hair and a warm, inviting smile was looking at her. Speaking to her.

One of her heroes.

Chloe had two options: she could nod and say something akin to "thank you," and then go about her business or she could geek the fuck out because Nancy Wilson is standing a few feet from her, joined by her sister, Ann.

She chose option two. Life was too short and who knows if she would ever get this opportunity again?

The duo listened to Chloe jump from singing their praises to awkward disjointed stories about how much their music inspired her; how she taught herself to play Barracuda when she was only sixteen. Nancy and Ann didn't seem to mind. They were used to it.

Chloe and her band posed for pictures with Ann, Nancy, and the rest of Heart; and then it was time for both bands to go their separate ways to get ready.

Chloe texted the photos to her parents as well as Holly, who responded with several gasps and heart emojis.

They were allotted twenty minutes so the band chose four of their songs to play. There was a television screen in the main room, and the headliners found their eyes glued to the screen watching a certain ginger perform.

"What do you think?" Ann said.

"She's definitely talented. I haven't seen that level of raw talent in a long time. If she keeps practicing, she'll go far."

"Chloe Beale," Ann said.

"I'm going to have to remember that name," Nancy smiled. "Look at that," she pointed out Chloe's technique to her sister. "Look how she uses those notes."

Suddenly loud crash startled the sisters. "Oh shit. It's Bill," Ann said, dashing over to one of their guitarists.

Cheetah kill finished their set and was met with rapturous applause from the audience. While the band walked backstage and out into the hallway Chloe texted her girlfriend to let her know she was going to put her guitar away and then she'd be there to join her in the audience.

Holly: You killed it, Babe. Oh my god.

Chloe smiled.

"Chloe come here," Jamie called out to her. Quirking an eyebrow the young musician walked over to Jamie and the rest of the guys who were speaking to Andrew, the person who managed Heart.

"What's going on?" she asked, immediately fearing the worst. Fearing that they weren't going to get paid for the gig.

"Chloe, right?" the man asked.

Chloe nodded cautiously.

"Will you come with me?" he asked. "Ann and Nancy would like to speak with you."

"Sure. But they're coming with me," she pointed to her band-mates. Horror stories about sleazy managers lying to girls so they could isolate them and take advantage of them were all too common and Chloe wasn't going to take any chances.

"That's fine," Andrew said, already leading them down the hallway towards the main green room. Once there he opened the door and ushered the band inside.

Two paramedics were in the room tending to a man's leg. It was broken from what little they could see.

"Hi Chloe," Nancy said.

Chloe's brain rebooted and searched for answers before finally settling on a weak "Hi."

"I watched your set out there. You all are really good, but Chloe I was wondering if I could single you out. Ask you a huge favor?"

Chloe's heart jackhammered. "Of course."

An assistant brought over a sheet of paper with a list of songs typed out. "Do you know how to play these?" Nancy asked.

Chloe looked down at the paper and then back up at Nancy. "I can play all of them," she said.

Nancy cocked her head, clearly impressed. "Really?"

Chloe gave an enthusiastic nod.

"What's this about?" Jamie asked.

Ann looked at Nancy and then back at the band. "One of our guitarists. He tripped and broke his leg. And unless we can find someone to fill in, we're going to have to cancel the show. And we really don't want to do that."

"Chloe. Would you mind going over a few licks and snippets of the setlist because we'd like it if you backed us up on stage."

"You-you want…me, to play with you?" she said slowly.

Nancy smiled. "Uh-huh."

Chloe had to be dreaming because there was no way one of her guitar heroes was asking her to play on stage with her? She was a senior in college. A boring college in Atlanta, getting a boring degree and listening to all kinds of albums hoping to possess a fraction of the talent as the people whose music graced her ears.

The young musician turned to face her friends. "It's not fair to you guys."

"Chloe, dude. Who cares. You've been dreaming of a moment like this for as long as we've known you." one of them said and the others happily agreed.

Chloe felt her eyes mist. "You guys are the best," she hugged every one of them.

Nancy returned to the group with her guitar strapped across her chest. "You ready, Chloe?" she asked.

"Yes!" she squealed. "This is a dream come true."

"Okay. I'll be over there. Plug in and come and join us when you're ready."

Chloe chewed on her bottom lip. Pulling out her phone, her thumb trembled as it hovered over Holly's name. Chloe hoped her girlfriend would understand.

Holly picked up on the second ring.

"Babe, where are you? The show's about to start," Holly said.

"Baby. Something came up. Long story short one of Heart's guitar players got hurt and they want me to play with them."

"What?!" Holly asked.

Chloe reiterated what she'd previously said.

"No I heard you the first time. Chlo-what the fuck? So you're not going to come out here and watch the concert with me?" Holly questioned.

"They want me to p-play with them," Chloe's voice broke.

"This was supposed to be our date!" Holly protested.

"I know, sweetie I'm so sorry. It just…happened."

Chloe was met with a long deafening sigh on the other end. She couldn't say she blamed her girlfriend. Holly's frustration was justified. But this could be a once and a lifetime opportunity.

"Well I can see you've made your decision," Holly sniped.

"Honey-" Chloe whined.

"I'll catch you later Chloe," and the line went dead.

Chloe excused herself for a minute to wipe the tears from her eyes. Everything's going to be alright, Chloe thought to herself. We'll work through this.

Once the college student composed herself she walked over to Nancy and the rest of the band and quickly rehearsed some licks and riffs.

The concert was everything Chloe ever hoped for. On stage, all of her problems seemed to disappear and she felt like the thirteen-year-old girl again. Only this time, she was the one on stage making magic happen.

Holly was nowhere to be found. Having decided the concert wasn't worth seeing without her girlfriend with her. She hailed an Uber and left the venue in tears.

The concert ended with thunderous applause and congratulatory pats from the Wilson Sisters, the backing band, and the members of Chloe's band who weren't ashamed to be caught crying; happy that their friend got the opportunity of a lifetime.

More photos were taken, business cards exchanged, and Cheetah Kill was paid their fee for opening plus extra for Chloe's services.

The band cheered their friend on the walk back to their cars. Regaling her with praise and telling her how awesome she looked. How performing came so naturally to her.

"And where the fuck do you think you're going?!" A voice shouted out to them from down the alley. Two figures emerged from the shadows. A heavyset man with a greasy brown beard and his scrawny, borderline emaciated girlfriend.

The band stopped dead in their tracks. Jamie stared at them when the realization hit him. "Fuck it's Dave," he said to the rest of his band-mates.

"Dave?" Chloe asked. The two dashed over to the group with terrifying intensity.

"He's fucked up. So's she," their rhythm guitarist said.

"Dave. You're high, man."

"Reaping what's mine, I see," Dave said. "Just wasn't enough that you took my spot in the band?"

Chloe dropped the quizzical look after the revelation but fear quickly set in. Something was off about this man. This was the person she replaced. There was an edge of danger regarding him, his entire vibe was a big red flag.

"Dave. C'mon man, it's been three years, let it go!"

"Shut up!" his girlfriend yelled. From her jacket, she produced a small gun and trained it on the five before finally settling on Chloe.

Immediately the ginger became paralyzed with fear. Never in her life did she expect to be staring down the barrel of a gun. Any coherent thought in her brain had died in an instant as time slowed down to a cruel and unforgiving lull. Chills crept up and down the woman's body; the feeling of powerlessness was overwhelming.

It wasn't fair. She couldn't die here, not this young. Not when she just performed on stage with one of her heroes. Not when she didn't even get to apologize to Holly.

"We'll take the money," she flicked her wrist. Everyone reached with shaky hands and fingers into their wallets. "Not you!" she barked. "Her!" Dave's girlfriend re-trained the pistol on the terrified ginger.

"Dave. Please," Jamie started. "Look at what you're doing. You're robbing Chloe."

"Chloe robbed me. She robbed me of everything," he said.

"You did that!" Jamie tried to reason with the man. "But if you want someone to be mad, then be mad at me. Just-just tell her, tell her to put the gun down."

Sobbing and trembling, Chloe forked over her share of the money. She wasn't sure how her soul hadn't left her body with how hard she was shaking.

"Pleasure doing business with you Red," the woman said, snatching the money out of Chloe's hand.

Dave leaned over to whisper something into his girlfriend's ear. A wicked grin crept up onto her face. "Oh, that's a great idea. Fetch us even more money."

She pointed to the guitar case slung across Chloe's shoulder. "We'll be taking that," she said.

"P-please, no. Not my guitar," Chloe pleaded.

"Don't wanna hear it bitch!" the man barked.

"I'm s-orry," she cried. "I just wanted a gig. I didn't know, I didn't mea-I didn't mean to take your position f-f-full time. It just happened," Chloe sobbed.

"Save it for the suckers fire-crotch," the woman racked the slide of the gun, chambering a bullet. "Hand it over."

Chloe, reluctantly, complied.

"C'mon man. Don't do this to Chloe," Warner, their drummer said.

"Be quiet!" he fumed.

The rest happened in a blur. The two of them fled with the money and guitar. Chloe was a ghost on the ride to the hospital. She wasn't wounded; at least she was pretty sure. The ginger spaced out and only processed the occasional word from her band-mates.

"We were robbed at gunpoint. We're fine but our friend is in a really bad place mentally. Could you guys like, I don't know…check her out?" Chloe heard Jamie tell the receptionist.

A while later she curled up on her side while lying on the hospital bed. Her eyes had that thousand-yard stare.

"Your friend is in real bad shock right now. We want to keep her overnight until our resident psychiatrist comes in tomorrow morning and can examine her. Is there someone we can call?" the doctor asked.

"Yeah," Jamie said. "Her girlfriend."

"Okay. What's her girlfriend's phone number?" the doctor asked.

Holly Randall raced to the hospital. Chloe's mother was her first call and it was a smart decision because Catherine managed to keep her calm over the phone. When Holly arrived, Catherine informed her that she and Clara were headed to the airport to catch the first available flight to Atlanta.

Less than three hours later the three most important women in Chloe's life were by her bedside.

Catherine held her daughter and was able to coax her out of the shock. Holly was congenial and supportive but still a little distant.

When morning arrived Chloe had a short meeting with the hospital psychiatrist and then the Atlanta police. Once she gave her statement, she was given the okay to be discharged.

But not before Clara showed up to the hospital room lugging a huge gift. "This was supposed to be my Christmas present to you, but after the night you've had, after your Washburn got jacked, I brought this on the flight. Here you go, Sis."

Clara set the guitar case on the hospital bed.

Chloe's jaw dropped. With shaky hands she unzipped the case and inside was a gorgeous burgundy Gibson Les Paul.

She threw her hand over her mouth as tears streamed down her face "I don't deserve you as a sister," she sobbed. "It's beautiful."

"You are going to make it big time. I just know it." Chloe practically tackled her little sister in a hug.

Chloe wiped the tears from her eyes. "I promise you when I play my first stadium gig, I'll use this guitar."

"You better," Clara laughed, which helped ease Chloe's mood.

Chloe could not believe how lucky she was to be blessed with such a supportive family and wonderful friends who were always there for her and eager to help her succeed in her dreams. And to top it all off, she now owned a sleek Gibson Les Paul.

Even though it looked like things were slowly turning around for the ginger, the bad news was far from over. Days after she was discharged, Chloe got a call from Holly asking if they could meet up in Holly's dorm room.

That night Chloe found herself stuck to another bed, sobbing her eyes out.

Holly had broken up with her.

"We want different things Chlo. I want an 'us' and a picket fence."

"We can have both. Pl-please, I promise I'll give up my music," Chloe wailed.

Holly attempted to hug her but Chloe recoiled.

"I don't want you to give up on your dream Chlo. Not when you've worked so hard."

"I-I-I ju-st," she could barely get the words out because she was sobbing so hard. "Date…" she sniffled. "I shouldn't have blown off our date."

"I think that's why this is what's best for us Chlo," Holly cried. "You're focused on your music, and that's not a bad thing, it's not. Just maybe you aren't ready to settle down yet."

"I lov-, I love y-you," Chloe wailed.

"I love you to Chlo," once again Holly attempted to hug the ginger only this time Chloe gave her a shove and then stormed out of her dorm room, running and crying the entire time.

"You have to get out of bed, Chlobear," her mom, pleaded softly.

When nobody heard a word out of Chloe for two days, Holly bit the bullet and texted Catherine Beale, who, despite having just gotten back home less than twelve hours prior, dropped everything to fly back to Atlanta to comfort her daughter.

"I wanted to marry her," Chloe murmured without hope or purpose, into her tear-stained pillow. It was true, she had been contemplating asking Holly to be her wife once they'd graduated. Unbeknownst to everyone, Chloe had secretly begun looking at engagement rings.

"We hoped you would too, honey," Catherine crawled onto the small bed to cuddle and comfort her daughter. "I know this feels like the end of the world, but I promise you honey, it isn't."

Chloe grumbled out her disagreement. She tried to roll over to face the wall but her mom's hold prevented her from doing so.

Catherine Beale fished her phone out of her pocket. "Stevie or Taylor?" she asked.

Chloe buried her face into her mother's shoulder. "Taylor," she sniffled then started crying again. No way was she in a Stevie Nicks mood.

Catherine Beale tapped her Taylor Swift playlist while Chloe bawled her eyes out.

Graduation came and went. Chloe had never expected it to be such a blur, but there she was on the last day of school. Her last day of college. The place where up until a couple of weeks ago she begrudgingly admitted housed some of the best memories of her life. Now, Chloe was pretty certain she wanted nothing to do with the university.

Walking towards one of the music rooms with her new Gibson, the ginger figured a loose jam might take her mind off of her recent breakup.

The sound of someone wailing on the drums caught her attention. Anxiously Chloe opened the music room door. Sitting behind the school's drum kit was a girl whose face she couldn't quite place but Chloe knew she'd seen her before.

While Chloe racked her brain the girl behind the drums stopped abruptly once she realized she wasn't alone.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to disturb you."

Instead of apprehension the woman simply smiled at her and gestured towards Chloe's guitar case.

"Oh," Chloe said, studying the girl's features. "You want me to…jam with you?"

The woman nodded.

"Yeah. Yeah okay," Chloe said. She took her guitar out of its case and then searched for the plug which lead to an amplifier. "Have we met before? Because there's something familiar about you."

The woman stood up, pointed in the direction of the quad, smacked herself in the face, and then pretended to drop things.

Chloe watched the performance. At first, she was perplexed as to why the girl chose to do charades; and then the memory hit her.

"Oh my god!" she squealed. "You're the girl I met on my very first day."

The woman gave Chloe a delightful nod followed by an "okay" gesture.

"Lilly!" she exclaimed. "That's right, your name is Lilly. You're totes a great drummer," Chloe smiled, having finally found the plug-in.

"Let's take it slow. Set a beat and I'll follow you, okay? Then I'll play something and you back me up."

Lilly happily agreed. And the two ladies spent an hour and a half jamming before they'd decided to call it a day. Lilly impressed Chloe with her technical proficiency; and not only was Lilly a good drummer but a talented percussionist all around, which she eagerly demonstrated by beatboxing during the jam session.

Both women caught a good vibe about each other so Lilly gave Chloe her phone number so the two could play together again.

Chloe thanked Lilly and walked out the door smiling. For the first time in weeks, it felt like things were starting to look up.