A/N: Hello all! Apologies for the time it took for this update. As my other story was coming to its end I focused energy on finishing that out and now it's complete all but the epilogue chapter. So (shameless plug) if anyone feels so inclined to check out my nearly 3 year project "Her Words Destroyed My Planet" go nuts! Anyway, this one is on the longer side so hopefully that makes up for the delay.
Ch 6
Beca woke with a gasp; her heart hammering in her chest and sweat coating her skin. She wiped a hand down her face in an attempt to get her bearings. Flashes of the dream played through her mind as she stared up at the ceiling.
Bodies tangling together.
The feel of skin and sweat colliding.
Heavy breaths echoing in the dark.
It was all so potent she could almost assume it was just a memory of the previous night. Almost. If it weren't for the hands in her hair pulling her head back to look at the face her bedmate.
She'd been shocked awake the instant her eyes found Chloe Beale looking up at her.
Shaken by the dream, Beca pushed off the blanket and threw her legs over the side of the bed. Propping her elbows on her knees, she dropped her face into her hands.
What the hell was what about? She'd never dreamt about a coworker before; let alone such an intense dream. Of course, she'd also never spent hours just talking with one either. It turned out she was doing a lot of things for the first time recently, and it all somehow centered around Chloe.
She let out a frustrated sigh and lifted her head, swiping her hair out of her face. The sound of the sheets shifting behind her came a moment before a warm hand slid up the curve of her bare back.
"What wrong?" the sleepy voice asked.
Beca looked over her shoulder. The red-haired woman from the night before looked up at her from the pillow. The hand on her back began to scratch lightly against her skin.
"Are you ok?"
Beca cleared her throat.
"You need to go."
The look of surprise coincided with the hand dropping back to the mattress. The woman glanced over at the clock on the nightstand and then back to Beca.
"Right now?" she asked in disbelieve, "It's 5 a.m. You won't even let the sun come up first?"
Beca sighed again and then stood up. She began finding her clothes and began to dress in the dark.
"Fine. Wait for the sun," she told her, plopping into a chair to tug her boots on, "Do what you want. I've got to go."
The woman scoffed and sat up, "Damn, I'm not trying to get a ring out of you or anything. I'll go; I just don't see why we can't sleep through the damn night. You don't need to run off."
Beca had already risen to her feet again and threw on her hoodie.
"Gotta work in a few hours anyway," she dismissed and headed to the door. Pausing she scratched the back of her head, ruffling up her hair, "There's cash in the drawer if you want it. If you're going to steal anything just leave the guitar."
She didn't wait for a response as she left the room. With nothing else to do, she decided to just head to set early.
X
Chloe smiled brightly for the selfie with the picture with the girls who immediately began gushing their thanks before going on their way and squealing amongst each other. Chloe watched them leave with a smile and turned back to Aubrey.
"Sorry," she apologized for the interruption as they continued down the sidewalk.
"Don't apologize," Aubrey dismissed, "It's a good thing. You have fans who love you and giving them your time like that is great for your reputation."
"I don't do it for a reputation."
"Oh I know," she assured, "It's just a bonus. You make my job pretty easy."
They arrived at the restaurant for brunch and were led directly to a table.
"How much time do you have?" Aubrey asked, checking the time on her phone.
Chloe glanced at her watch as well.
"I'm supposed to be there at two, so no rush."
"Great," she opened the menu, "So, how was the first day?"
"A few bumps, but otherwise it was awesome," she told her excitedly, "I think this is going to be a good one."
"How's the director? I've heard he can be a jerk."
"Definitely a hard one. He had some stuff to say when I messed a take."
"Ugh, what did he say?"
Chloe shook her head and waved a hand dismissively as their coffees came.
"It's nothing important," she answered, "I was a little down about it, but Beca helped."
"Did she now?" Aubrey asked with a careful cynicism. She took a drink of her coffee and set the mug down, "And you're…getting along with Beca?"
"Yeah," Chloe replied enthusiastically, "We actually went out afterwards. Went to this little place Beca suggested for coffee and talked for a while."
"About what?"
"A bunch of stuff," Chloe laughed as she remembered, "She did the cutest thing with her muffin. She actually- "
"Ok," Aubrey interrupted, holding her hand up, "I don't want to rain on your parade here, but making friends with Beca Mitchell is a bad idea. You want to talk about reputations…"
She let it hang with a pointed look.
"Oh she's not as bad as they say," she defended, "Really, Aubrey, she was perfectly normal. She wanted a quiet calm place to talk. She even told me this stupid little joke on set to cheer me up."
"All sober and well-intentioned, I'm sure."
"It was. We just hung out until she started feeling sick, then I dropped her at her hotel and went home. It was all perfectly innocent and nothing like you would expect."
"Uh-huh," Aubrey clicked her tongue and worked a few touches to her phone, "This look like someone feeling sick?"
She turned the phone around to show Chloe the screen. Blue eyes saw the TMZ website with its obnoxious large font above a snapped photo.
'Beca Mitchell Nightly Parties Continue'
The photo was taken from a distance but it was obviously Beca. She was exiting a club with a girl pressed against her side. Chloe's mouth opened without any words leaving her. The time stamp on the photo clearly declared it was taken in the late hours of the previous night, or rather, that morning.
She felt a burn of jealousy at the sight of the stranger draping herself all over Beca. But more than that, she felt the harsh sting of realization that Beca had lied to her. She hadn't been tired or sick. She just wanted to get away from Chloe.
She shook her head and gave Aubrey back her phone.
"Well…" she started, feeling awkward and stupid for the way she'd let her imagination run off with possibilities, "It's not really my business, is it?"
"Chloe, I'm sorry if- "
"It's fine," she cut her off; not wanting to talk about it anymore, "Like I said: not my business."
She cleared her throat and focused on what she would order; silently berating herself. Obviously, whatever she thought had passed between them was all one-sided. But she resolved to not focus on it. She had to work with Beca in a few hours for the first half of her day and she would be professional.
X
Beca sat in her designated chair on set, waiting as the crew prepped for their next scene. Her headphones blocking out the chatter as she listened to the music on her phone. She slouched down enough to tilt her head back against the chair and closed her eyes. She let the music pull her into a calm zone as she lifted her cigarette to her lips and took a deep pull.
Blowing the smoke upward, she opened her eyes and watched it rise and swirl away as the lyrics filled her head.
'All I see is zombies
Hear them screaming at her
They can smell your money
And they want your soul
Here they come behind you
Try to stay alive'
The background singers entered with their ominous breathy contribution that went straight into Beca's bones.
'We're coming out to get you
We're oh so glad we met you
We're eating you for profit
There is no way to stop it'
She was pulled out her head with a jerk of surprise when a hand suddenly cut through the air above her; banishing the tendrils of dancing smoke. She moved her gaze over to see her mother standing with hands on her hips and fire in her eyes. Beca made a point to lean back again but her headphones were ripped off before she could settle back down.
"What is wrong with you?"
"Right now?" she remarked with a quirk of her eyebrow.
"I'm serious, Rebecca."
"So am I, Angela."
She moved to take another drag but her mother slapped the cigarette out of her hand.
"You left that…person alone in your room. Do you have any idea what could've happened?"
"She didn't take my guitar, did she?"
"Who cares about that monstrosity?" she said angrily and then hissed, "She was in your drawer!"
"I told her to take some money. You know, cut out the middle mom from giving it to her anyway."
"And what if she'd found…" she paused and looked around for curious ears before lowering her voice, "…something else? She could've gone to the police. They would have brought you in and the story would be everywhere within an hour!"
"I supposed I would just tell them my mommy gave it to me."
Her mother's face hardened even more and Beca was sure if there weren't people around, she'd slap her right then and there. Instead, Angela leaned in close to her daughter and spoke in a low voice.
"Listen to me," she began, "we've worked too hard to get here. You won't ruin it because you make stupid decisions. Do you want us to go back to being pathetic nobodies? Hm? Because that's what you are without this."
Beca swallowed as she heard the familiar words. She looked down in her lap and fiddled with her phone to have something to do with her hands.
"No," she answered softly.
"Good," she answered and looked up as they called places. Angela put a kiss on top of her head, "You know I love you, right? I just want what's best for you."
Beca just nodded and stood up, "Of course."
She went right into her scenes with Luke, getting it done and dusted in a few takes. Once it was done, she saw Chloe arrive for the next sequence. She tried to give her a nod of hello from across the room but the usually friendly girl didn't acknowledge her. Apparently deciding a chat with Dom was more important.
The odd response unsettled Beca but she tried to chalk it up to Chloe just wanting to talk to with the other girl. But the apparent indifference to her continued as they stood near one another in the false living room and for the first time Beca longed for some pre-action small talk.
"So," she began awkwardly, "how was your morning?"
"Fine."
Beca nodded at the short answer and glanced around, scratched behind her ear as she searched for something that would encourage Chloe to talk to her. She forced an amused smile and gestured to the knick-knack's props had decorated the area with to make it look lived in.
"Nice place you got here," she joked of what was 'Addison's' hoe, "Who's your decorator?"
"I don't know," Chloe answered and finally looked at Beca, "Maybe that girl you were with last night. She looked like she had style."
Her brows furrowed together, "What?"
Chloe scoffed and crossed her arms.
"You know, what you do in your free time is up to you. But why lie to me about being tired? We're adults Beca, if you didn't want to spend time with me, you just had to say so."
"No, it wasn't- "
"I'm not the kind of person you like to be around. It's fine. We'll work together and that's it."
"Chloe- "
"I said it's fine," she interrupted her again, "It is. Because I'm not like you. I don't lie about what I'm feeling. I don't go out until all hours and drink until I can't walk and hook up with strangers for fun. So it's whatever; I'll be professional and I won't bug you anymore."
Beca opened her mouth to reply but was stopped by the director's declaration they were ready to begin. Beca swallowed down her guilt, feeling it add on to the pile her mother's words had put in her chest, and got to work.
They got through the few scenes they shared with ease. Chloe had, as she said, remained professionally distant and offered no middle ground and soon it Beca was wrapped for the day. Chloe still had a few more hours, as she was the main character. Beca tried to catch her eye as she left but Chloe refused to allow it; not even glancing her way as she made her exit.
Once she'd left, Chloe went through the rest of her day, doing her best to keep her mind off Beca. She was somewhat successful, though John found the need to criticize her again a few times and it made her wish the other girl was still around.
At the end of the long day, which felt much less fulfilling than the first, Chloe dragged herself home. After parking and heading to the apartment building, her feet stopped in surprise at someone sitting on the outside stairs.
Not just someone. Beca Mitchell was sitting on the stoop, head down stairs at the ground.
"Beca?" she asked, conveying her shock. Beca lifted her head at the voice, "What are you doing here?"
"I, uh, I didn't know when you'd be done and…I remembered you mentioned renting an apartment here," she looked up for a moment, "It's a nice building."
"Thanks," she answered slowly, still confused as she stepped closer, "But why are you here? How-How long have you been here?"
"Um," she held up her phone, "It died a little while ago. Not sure what time it is now, but…a few hours. As for why…I'm not sure, really. I was just thinking about what you said and here I am."
"Beca," Chloe approached and sat on the step beside her, "I wasn't trying to upset you. I mean, maybe, in the moment, I kind of was. I'm sorry."
"No, you were right," Beca said and rubbed a hand down her face, "When you said you aren't like me. You're right. You're nothing like me. That's what's great about you. I'm the last person you want to be anything like."
"Right," Chloe bumped her shoulder into Beca's, "Why would I ever want to be funny, clever, or talented?"
Beca shook her head at the compliments.
"Look, last night, I…" she started rubbing her hands together between her knees as the night continued to chill around them, "It wasn't that I didn't want to spend time with you."
"Then why did you try to get away so fast just to go out and party?" she asked, "And why lie about it?"
"Because…" she started, feeling the words bubble up and spill out before she could stop herself, "Because I wanted to spend time with you."
Chloe turned her body towards her, facing the woman completely.
"I don't understand."
"I wanted to but then something…reminded me why I shouldn't," she left vague what it was exactly; still wanting to keep that part of her hidden from Chloe. That terrible need that crept up on her, "Because you aren't like me. You're …good and I'm…"
She didn't finish her sentence, instead looked up at the sky and chuckled nervously.
"Wow, that was something to say, wasn't it?"
"I'm not perfect, you know," Chloe remarked. Beca didn't respond though, only continued to look up at the sky. Chloe lifted her own eyes and let out a long sigh, deciding to allow the subject to drop since Beca appeared to want it, "It's beautiful tonight, you can see all the stars."
"Yeah," Beca agreed without looking away, "Don't see it too often here."
Chloe smiled to herself as she continued to look up.
"You know, when I was growing up back in Georgia, I would sit with my dad on the porch and we'd spend hours looking at the stars, just taking it all in. He would tell me all the myths and stories about the constellations," she reminisced happily, "Once, when I was teenager we were looking at them after I'd just been dumped, he put his arm around me and he told me 'ChloBear, the only person good enough for you would scoop the stars out of the sky with their hat and lay them at your feet.' I think about that a lot when I see them."
Beca grinned at the sweet story.
"He was right."
Chloe felt herself blush when she realized Beca was looking at her. They held eye contact for a while. Something electric in the air, like static buzzing between them. Her heart began to speed up and her eyes dropped to Beca's lips. She saw her tongue poke out between them, wetting the tempting skin. Her breath hitched as she saw Beca's begin to inch forward. Her own eyes slid closed and her lips parted in anticipation. She felt her skin begin to tingle as Beca's breath danced over her lips.
A loud, long honk came from a car somewhere on the street and the two of them jumped apart at the sudden interruption. Chloe laughed nervously and brushed hair behind her ear while looking at her lap. She cleared her throat and tried to get them away from the awkward moment.
"What about your dad?" she asked, "You didn't mention him when we talked before."
"Oh…I haven't seen him in years," she admitted.
"There's got to be some cute memories though, I hope? Did you ever look at the stars?"
"Not really."
Her eyes fell to the tattoo on her forearm and ran her fingertip along the ink lines.
"He used to call me Grasshopper."
Chloe let out an amused chuckle, "Were you bouncing around all over the place?"
Beca shook her head and cleared her throat.
"No, it wasn't anything like that," she started to explain, "See he was a literature professor, probably still is for all I know. When I was a kid, I thought he was the smartest person alive; the best person alive. See, I'm, well, when I was a kid, we found out I'm dyslexic."
"Oh, I had no idea."
"No one does. My mom doesn't want anyone to. But it's fine, I manage all right," she dismissed, "My dad, though, he would sit with me for hours at a time, helping me with homework and any time I just wanted to read. He was so patient with me through it all. He was such a great teacher for me and I started nipping at his heels, following him around all the time to teach me everything he could. Chess, guitar, history, anything I could think of, I asked about. It didn't matter if he'd been working all day or my mom was driving him nuts, if I ran up to him, he'd say, 'What's our lesson today, Young Grasshopper?' and give me whatever time he had."
Beca hadn't realized she'd begun smiling at some point in the story until she stopped talking. She looked back at Chloe and cleared her throat again.
"Anyway…" she shrugged, "Yeah, that's a good memory."
"Wow," Chloe breathed out.
"What?"
"It's just," she shook her head in amazement, "When you were telling that story…I think that's the happiest I've ever seen you. It's beautiful."
Beca laughed uncomfortably and shrugged again; always uncertain how to take a true compliment.
Chloe sense her discomfort and, though she wanted to ask why she hadn't seen her father in so long since they appeared to have a good relationship when she was young, decided to take pity on her and not press.
She looked behind her at the front door, "Do you want to come up for a while?"
"Oh," Beca looked up at the building, "I don't know if I should."
"Beca," she said, hoping the direct approach would work, "I'd like it if you came upstairs and had a drink with me."
Beca worried her bottom lip briefly and, against her better judgement, answered honestly.
"I would love to."
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A/N: Lyrics are from the song Zombies by Childish Gambino. I don't own it. All rights belong to Donald Glover and anyone else involved in the writing/performing/producing/distribution of the song.