Hey everyone, I am really sorry for the delay and regrettably short chapter. My life has been taking some unexpected turns recently and keeping up with the fic took a seat on the back burner. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy. Any feedback is greatly appreciated; I love hearing from you!

Each step I tread doesn't fall in vanity or fiction. The dreams I hold dear to my own mending heart gleam with chance. Hope is a dangerous thing to risk on an alien likeness, but fractured resolve gambled it away. A cycle, an odd roulette, spinning the barrel until you pull the trigger.

"So," Beca had no shame in showing Chloe a mouthful of phad thai, "what made you move 'cross country?" Chop sticks shoveled more noodles into her mouth. Chloe's eyes peeked over her phone with amusement dancing in her irises. Although Chloe wasn't feeling particularly hungry, Beca had insisted - more so forced - her to get something. So, she begrudgingly agreed, leaving her pushing around a broccoli stir-fry. She took a pregnant pause and rolled the words around in her head.

"Well," she licked her lips, "after I graduated nursing school, my mom passed away. I decided to make a fresh start; LA seemed like the place to go." She nodded to herself and continued to move vegetables around in the rice. The nice thing about Beca is that she doesn't pry. Chloe's vulnerability was palpable, so Beca left the subject alone. For that, Chloe was grateful.

Beca had finished her food and went behind the counter to grab a glass. She filled a quarter of it with whiskey and grabbed a coke from the fridge to finish it off. Chloe noticed, but chose not to mention it. If Beca can respect her privacy, so should she. "You can go to bed if you want," the DJ said quietly while sipping her drink. Her eyes were still rimmed in black, and her skin was a ghostly white; a tired sigh left her lungs as the DJ moved to the balcony once again. Chloe eyed the dirty dishes on the counter before following.

"What's your favorite color?" Beca asked, her head propped on her hand.

They had been standing outside quietly for a few minutes to admire the scattered LA skyline before Beca broke the silence. Chloe was surprised Beca initiated the conversation, but she wasn't going to let this opportunity go to waste.

"I think blue. The closest shade is probably my eyes, for reference."

"A little vain there, don't you think?" Beca remarked, the corner of her mouth pulled into a small smirk. Chloe flipped her off before her head returned to the landscape. The air was still hot, but the slightest breeze would occasionally kiss skin and comb through their hair. The moon, cloaked in smog, was a smudge in the sky. The only stars that twinkled were the thousands of cars and buildings polluting the streets. Chloe closed her eyes and took in a deep breath; the air filled her lungs and she couldn't help but smell the traces of weed, but there was something else. She was reminded of the forest behind her childhood home, a green wall of towering trees and their commanding presence. She could smell the cedar and pine dusting the air and ground and feel the cool breeze tickle her neck. A small smile melted on her face. She opened her eyes and saw steel gazing back.

"You okay?" She asked. Chloe nodded and kept the shy smile.

"Yeah, I just got lost in thought for a moment." A pause. "If you could live anywhere in the world, which I'm sure you could, where would it be?"

Beca stared blankly at her. Chloe stared back, waiting.

"Amsterdam."

Chloe nodded and filed that piece of information away for another time. If there was another time. She hoped there would be. Beca took another drink and cleared her throat. "All time favorite band. Go."

Getting excited now, Chloe bounced on the balls of her feet and clapped her hands together. "Oh god, this is so hard! I can't pick," she said.

"Come on, there has to be someone you would kill to see in concert."

Chloe's head was rapidly rifling through her mental filing cabinets to find her answer. When it finally came, she let out a small squeal and clapped her hands again.

"Ke$ha." She said it so confidently that Beca couldn't help and smile at her decisive head nod.

"Wasn't expecting that, but good choice," Beca continued to smile into her drink. This is nice, she thought. Easy.

"Okay, hm," Chloe began, her nose scrunching in thought and her tongue poking out of her lips. "What is your favorite superhero?"

Beca let out a cackle and held her stomach in amusement. Her eyes swam in amusement and she turned to face the redhead. "DC or Marvel?"

"Either, but there is an obvious answer."

"Uh huh," Beca muttered and took a second to mull her answer over. "Deadpool."

"He's an anti-hero, he doesn't count!" Chloe looked exasperated, her hands gesturing wildly into the air like they were looking for the logic she thought Beca surely lacked. Red strands in the soft glow of lights framed her head in a fiery halo. Everything about her screamed 'I'm alive!'. The air was charged with her vibrancy.

"You asked who my favorite superhero was. Wade Wilson is super, and the word hero is still in his title. Therefor he is a superhero." Beca finished smugly, hiding her smirk of victory behind the dwindling drink. Chloe huffed and tossed her hair over her left shoulder.

"Are you always a smartass?" Chloe crossed her arms over her chest and waited for a response only to see the DJ wiggling her eyebrows and smiling like the devil. Another sigh of frustration left her lips, but she still felt a chuckle rumbling in her chest.

"That was technically two questions… just in case you were keeping score." Beca saw bright blue eyes narrowing and decided she had enough fun. "Alright," she exhaled dramatically, "favorite book?"

Chloe leaned further onto the railing and dug deep into her mental catalog. "The Hunger Games," she decided. "I know it's technically a children's book, but I related to it."

"What, you kill children, too?" Beca desperately tried not to laugh, but Chloe saw and was seconds from smacking the back of her head.

"I work in a fucking children's hospital, dickhead, why would I kill children?"

"Woah," Beca put her hands up in front of her, palms facing Chloe. "Language, for one, and two, it's the perfect cover! One wrong 'slip up' and boom. Another tally on your growing list of child murders." Her words were slightly slurred, and a lazy smile painted her lips, but her shoulders were the most relaxed Chloe had seen.

"The only child I want to kill is the one right next to me," Chloe countered. Beca nodded her head and backed down out of respect, the small, soft smile never leaving her face. "What is your favorite instrument?"

Beca tapped her fingers on the railing. "Either piano or drums. I've never been able to choose."

Chloe hummed in approval and felt the exhaustion of the night seep into her. Her eyes were tired, her body was tired, her mind was tired. Between the long shifts at the hospital, going out tonight, and staying with Beca, it was a miracle she was till standing. Beca noticed her yawn and the way her eyelids would flutter with a tilt of her head. "Come on, Red, its bedtime." Beca seemed almost disappointed to end to their little game, but she still helped Chloe into the house and up the stairs. Her eyes were becoming lazy, drifting in and out with every yawn. Beca chuckled and found her fight against sleep endearing. Her hands softly guided Chloe into the bedroom once again and laid the redhead down onto the silk sheets. A soft sigh left Chloe's mouth when her head hit the pillow and it caused Beca to stop, startled. Her heart lurched at the noise and her eyes were wide with worry. Relax. Relax. Relax. Relax. Bright blue eyes cracked open and found Beca standing wide eyed and unmoving.

"Hey Becs?" Her voice was tired and soft.

"What is it?"

"Thank you. For looking out for me. I think we are going to be fast friends." With that, Chloe drifted off into dreamland. Beca stood and watched her chest slowly rise and gently fall. She was entranced; tiny puffs of air lifted the little baby hairs framing her face. Her face, pale in the dark, was possessed by tranquility, something that Beca has never known. It was 4:54 in the morning and Beca had evaded the hold of sleep once again. She sighed and forced her gaze away from the sleeping girl in her bed. She shouldn't like the sound of that, but she did. Don't be ridiculous. Her bare feet padded away from the bed and down the hall. She glanced at her studio but felt no need to work. She had worked enough. But what else would she do?

Walking down the stairs, she decided to befriend the couch. As she sank into the grey cushions, she pulled out her phone. More texts and calls from Anastasia, but thankfully they stopped before 4am. Beca knew she couldn't ignore her forever. In fact, that's the exact opposite of what you should do. But Beca was less than understanding. She clicked on her texts and saw a full-on assault from the blonde who uprooted the entire evening (surprisingly it was not Fat Amy). She thought about what Chloe had said earlier, why she kept Ana around. What she told her was true: she had always been there for her. She was starting to wonder, however, how much of that was still true. What had Anastasia done for her in the past 6 months? Beca's inability to provide an answer was more than enough evidence that her previous statement had been changed. If Ana wasn't being there for her now, why is she still in her life? It's a sad, perpetual cycle that Beca has fallen victim to once again. The waves kept crashing and rolling over her, a torrent of rain whipped her mind into a storm of unanswered questions.

Beca knew their relationship wasn't healthy, not that she had ever truly cared before. Anastasia was volatile and unstable. There was no debate about it. Some moments with her were pleasant, but that mood could turn into the biggest argument of your life. Beca gave up a long time ago when it came to apologizing to her. It wouldn't be good enough in Ana's eyes anyways. Beca read her first text.

"Rebecca Mitchell, I can't believe you brought a whole gang of sluts into our apartment. I didn't think you could stoop much lower, but you surprised me once again with how shitty of a human you are."

Beca laughed and scrolled to the next one.

"Beca, if you don't answer me right now, I'm gone. Done."

Beca could only hope she was so lucky. She kept scrolling.

"STOP FUCKING THAT REDHEADED HOOKER AND PICK UP THE FUCKING PHONE."

At this point, Beca scrolled past at least ten of those texts before Ana's attitude shifted.

"Beca, please talk to me, I'm worried about you…"

"Did you take your meds? Do you need anything?"

"I'm so sorry Becs, please don't shut me out."

It blew Beca's mind how a person could give such intense whiplash in their demeanor. She read the last one.

"I can't lose you, please don't leave me, I'm so scared…"

If she hadn't sighed enough tonight, she had hit her quota as the umpteenth huff filled the silence. Beca opened her voicemail and played the first one only to hear a cacophony of screaming and breaking glass. She deleted the rest.

Beca looked at the time, her phone reading at 5:12am. Her eyelids were finally weighing heavy. She succumbed to that feeling and sank further into the couch. By 5:18am, she was out cold.