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Chapter 15

Chloe's POV

"Chloe." I turn around in slight shock when I hear Stroma's voice calling me in his false British accent. "Come with me."

"Ok?" I follow him into a deserted hallway. Crossing my arm, I lower my voice to a whisper to ask, "is there any new information?"

He nods. "Do you know about the riff-off?" He's back to his original voice.

My brow furrows with confusion. "Riff-off?"

He nods again. "It's some singing competition thing. I heard Bumper Allen talking to Jesse Swanson about it in the hallway."

I give him a small, yet genuine, smile. "Nice work, Stroma."

To my surprise, he laughs. "You know you can call me Luke, right?"

I laugh as well when I see a small twinkle in his eye. "Not interested." With that, I walk away, ignoring his blubbering attempt at pretending not to be into me.

When I get to the apartment, I see Bree laying on the floor, her face in her laptop and books carefully strewn around her. "Hey Aubrey?"

She looks up and takes her glasses off, but doesn't attempt to sit up when I sit down next to her. "Hey, what's up?"

"Did you know about the riff-off?"

"No." She answers, but she says it too fast for it to be true. "I had no clue."

"Yes you did. If you hadn't, you would have asked me what a riff-off is." I cross my arms, and she sighs. "When is it?"

This time, she sits up. "Tomorrow night."

I gasp in anger. "And you didn't even think to tell me about it? We're partners, Bree."

"Because I have it taken care of, ok? I have the pitch pipe."

"Wow." I stand back up. "Forgive me for, you know, trying to do my job." I don't even have the heart to remind her the Bellas is a cover as I storm out of the apartment.

As I head outside, I see Mitchell walking down the street. Her hands are in her pockets, her headphones are on, and she looks particularly upset. I find myself curious as to why she's in this mood, so I jog up to her.

Almost as if she can actually hear me, she turns around and gives me a small, rare smile. She slides her headphones onto her neck and says, "Hey Chloe."

I almost stop in shock, but I smile instead as I slow down to match her pace. "Hey, what's up?"

She shrugs, curling up a little and making herself seem even smaller than she is. It breaks my heart, then I get annoyed that I actually care. For real, what is happening to me? "Nothing."

"Then why the long face?"

Another shrug from the brunette. "Another argument with my dad."

"Oh?"

"I don't really want to talk about it." The look on her face is almost pleading, and I can't help but nod.

We stop walking as we look each other in the eye. "That's ok, we can talk about something else."

But we don't talk about anything else, because the next thing I know, she's leaning forward. Her eyes flick up to mine in affirmation, but she doesn't actually wait for an answer before pressing her lips to mine.

I know my reaction shocks her, but not nearly as much as it shocks myself. I press into her and kiss her back with more passion than I've ever kissed anyone before, Asher included.

When oxygen becomes a problem, Beca slowly pulls away. "Was that ok?"

At this point, my brain is too hazy to think straight. So what happens is me replying, "More than ok" and kissing her again.

Her arms wrap around my waist, and I tangle one hand in her hair. The other, I rest on her collarbone. Her tongue swipes across my bottom lip, and I part my lips to let her in.

There's really only one word I can use to describe the taste of Beca Mitchell: intoxicating. I can't stop. It's like she's a drug, and no matter how much I try to fulfill the need, it's never going to be enough. I'm always going to want more.

While kissing Beca, I can totally understand how Bella felt kissing Edward in Twilight. Beca is my Edward Cullen, I just hid it from myself, and the thought scares me so much I pull away from the brunette rather abruptly.

Immediately, her face turns a deep red. "I'm so sorry, I don't know what I was thinking-"

I cut her off by pressing a finger to her lips. "It's not you, it's me."

She snorts and looks away. "Said every cliche movie ever." Before I can respond, she adds, "so, does this mean we can't be together?"

"No." I say it without even thinking, and I know my answer has nothing to do with the mission. "I want to be with you."

She perks up. "Really?"

I nod and bite my lower lip. "Yes, but Aubrey can't know."

If she's confused by this, she doesnt show it. "I won't tell anyone."

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"Alright ladies, if you'll all just follow me." Aubrey says to us Bellas, and we all murmur different things before following her.

"Is she always this bossy?" Beca whispers, and I nod. "Oh. Nice to know it isn't just me."

I chuckle. "Definitely not."

All last night, I couldn't stop thinking about the mission, Beca, and the kids. I know she killed my father, but after knowing her, I just can tell that it isn't true. I've never been more sure of anything in my entire life.

Aubrey and I didn't say anything to each other last night, and I'm sure the girls could tell we're fighting. True to her word, it doesn't look like Beca has told anyone about us. Even Stacie looked confused when she decided to walk next to me. To cover it up, she asked me about an assignment for Comparative Lit.

Once I was sure Aubrey was asleep last night, I called Stroma. I told him all about my suspicions, and he agreed. Together, we've decided to protect Beca from Bree. There's no way she killed Dad, and I can't let Aubrey kill an innocent person.

I don't even realize we've stopped moving until I hear Justin call out, "Welcome to the riff-off!" and a bunch of people start cheering.

I glance over and see Swanson mouth "you're going down" to Beca, and she smirks and replies, "I don't care."

When 'ladies of the 80s' pops up as the first category, Bree lets out an excited yelp and runs to the middle of the pool. Some of the Trebles, Allen included, get there first and start singing. For a second, all I can do is watch in amazement.

Oh Mickey you're so fine

You're so fine you blow my mind

Hey Mickey, hey

Hey Mickey, hey

Oh Mickey-

Bologna Barb walks up and cuts him off, and I almost laugh.

You're so fine, and you're mine

I'll be yours till the end of time

Cause you make me feel

Oh you make me feel

So shiny and new

Like a virgin, touched for the very first time

"Follow my lead." Aubrey whispers to us, and we nod.

Like the one in me, that's ok

Let's see how you do it

Put up your dukes, let's get down to it

Hit me with your best shot

Why don't you hit me with your best shot

Hit me with your best shot, and fire away-

Bree looks a little annoyed for a second, until she realizes the girl is high.

"Negative side effects of medical marijuana, folks. You are cut off!" Everyone joins him in the last two words.

The next category is 'songs about sex,' and I know Aubrey's going to be confused for most of these songs.

Allen looks like he has an idea, but Cynthia Rose starts singing first.

Na na na come on

Na na na na na come on, come on, come on

Cause I may be bad but I'm perfectly good at it

I can't help but smirk at the jealous look on Bree's face as Stacie grinds against CR. I love Bree to death, but I'm not the happiest with her right now.

I shake my head when Donald from the Trebles cuts us off. Aubrey has to drag Stacie back to us, but she pulls away.

All through the night I'll make love to you

Like you want me to-

Swanson cuts her off with a wide smile.

And I guess it's just the woman in you

That brings out the man in me

He smirks playfully with a heart at Beca, who rolls her eyes at him. I'd accuse her of liking him if I didn't know they're cousins.

I know I can't help myself

Watching him, I can't deny his voice is amazing.

It feels like the first time

It feels like the very first time

It feels like the first time-

Suddenly, Beca runs to the center of the pool, and I watch in shock at what comes out of her mouth.

The way she raps is almost as captivating as kissing her is. My mouth drops open in amazement, and I know everyone else is just as shocked. Shit, I think to myself. I'm falling in love with this girl.

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"Really?" I snap at Aubrey as soon as we enter the apartment. We were cut off for saying "it", which no one chose to point out that Jesse said first. Aubrey, of course, had just called us failures.

"What is your problem, Chloe? We lost, I can't let them not care!"

"If you couldn't tell, they knew. And if you keep pushing Mitchell away, eventually she's going to quit. Then we won't be able to accomplish the mission." I cross my arms. "Do you want that?"

She glares at me, her hands on her hips. "Whatever, I'm going to bed."

"Thought so!" I call after her, but her only response is a slammed door.

Once I'm in my own room, I close the door and pull my phone out, grinning when I see a text from Beca.

That was actually more fun than I expected, but I didn't say that.

I respond, oh, you totally did, but your secret is safe with me ;)

I watch as the three bubbles indicating she's typing float on the screen for a second. It better be.

Before I can type out a response, my phone starts ringing.

"Hello?"

"Hey babe." I sigh when I hear Tom's voice on the other end. "Wanna come over?"

"I can't, I'm studying."

"Let me help you then." I can practically hear his wink.

"I'm fine, thanks. Now I really have to go." I hang up, then immediately feel guilty after. It's not like Tom is a bad guy. I just can't hook up with him while doing… well, whatever it is I'm doing with Beca.

My phone vibrates in my hand; another text from the brunette herself. I'm a total badass, Beale. I can't let people think I care.

Then why let me know? I type out and press send before I can change my mind.

It takes her a couple of minutes to respond. Because I've never fallen for someone as hard as I have you. I'd be an idiot to let you go.

I wipe away tears I wasn't aware I was crying (until one had fallen onto my hand) as I reply. That is literally the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me. I hit send, then add, this doesn't help your badass case :D

Fuck off. I can just imagine the scowl she has on her face, the one she's probably using to hide a smile.

Gladly ;)

Gross. I can't help but let out a laugh at her response. It reminds me of the shower incident. Thinking about that day, and remembering how I felt as we sang together, I realize I've felt this way about Beca since the beginning. I just pushed it off.

You love it though

It only takes her a second to answer this time. Mhm, sure. A second later: I have a big test tomorrow, so I'm gonna get some sleep.

Alright, goodnight Beca.

Night, Chloe. Once the message comes in, I power my phone off and crawl under the blankets.

As I drift off into the land of sleep, I think about the mission once again. General Posen wants us to kill Beca, for his benefit… and I just can't believe that was a slip of the tongue. He's hiding something, and I'm going to figure it out. I just can't tell Aubrey; she would never believe me.