The day of Semi-Finals is here, and everyone is losing their minds. I don't know why they stress themselves out so much, it's not like the routine has changed at all, I feel none of the butterflies they speak of at breakfast,
"You alright, Becs?" Cynthia Rose sidles up next to me with her plate, brow lifting high as she questions me. I chew the rest of my bite and swallow slowly before nodding,
"Yeah, just the same boring routine, so I'm not worried about the way it's going to go." My shoulders rise in a show of indifference before I hoist my pack onto my shoulder. She reaches out with a smile and gives my hand a gentle, kind squeeze, a smile pulling to my lips as I squeeze back before heading out. Pulling my headphones up I tune into the radio station, only for my eardrums to be bombarded with my remix. Feeling my eyes widen in surprise I check to make sure I didn't click on my playlists, and sure enough, I am on the radio station... he's playing my music! I take off at a dead sprint, making it to the radio station before the song is even finished. Finding Luke in the booth, I immediately start yelling,
"Hey! This is my track! You're playing my song right now! That is awesome! Do you like it? You put it on the radio! That is amazing!" I ramble a bit, and he smiles wide, standing to greet me at the door,
"It's a sick beat." He says upon coming out, and I can't help the giggle that presses past my lips, he is playing my music... on the radio! Jesse comes up beside me, indignance on his face,
"Yeah, I always thought her beats were pretty sick." I lift a hand to pat his shoulder,
"Thanks, Jess, I appreciate your support." His smile goes megawatt with my words, and I can't help but return it. Luke clears his throat and I swear I spy a hint of jealousy in his eyes as he quickly offers,
"Hey, Becky, listen spring break, I want you to take the night shift. Play your music. The DJ at the garage does a brilliant version of this, but yours? It's better." He crosses his arms and tilts his head,
"Yeah, it is." I can't help but insert, my confidence behind my music tenfold after what has just happened,
"I'm gonna listen to her tonight. I think you should… You should come with." A small little smirk pulls to his lips, while he asks me he is looking at Jesse, so I'm quick to reply,
"I have a thing." I straighten out my uniform,
"Flight attendant training?" This brings a laugh forward, it was the first thing I thought upon seeing them for the first time myself,
"It's Barden Bellas. I have the semi-finals tonight." He straightens his posture, lifting from the door frame as confusion litters his face,
"Really? I did not have you pegged as an a cappella girl." I'm about to defend myself but Jesse interrupts me,
"Maybe you should get to know people before you, 'peg them' with your assumptions." I let my laughter burst forth, but shake my head immediately as I have to keep talking,
"I mean that's why I'm here so early, I can't come in today, we are leaving as soon as I get home." When Luke nods his understanding, I'm quick to grab Jesse's hand, "Come on, you have to get to the Treble bus." His smile is heartwarming when he realizes I'm trying to make it seem like we are a thing, help him out with Luke,
"Okay, let's go." He is quick to hold the door open for me, then grab my hand again as the blonde man in the radio station stares at our retreating forms. It's fine for about half a second, then my hand slowly pulls from his, though it seems it's a bit too late to keep it between us three as I hear a gasp from in front of us. Looking up I spy Aubrey and Chloe... of course,
"It's not what it looks like..." I try quickly, but in a flash, they are running, hurt filled eyes gone before I can say anything else. Jesse's brows both raise high on his head,
"Wha-..." He stammers, and I can only shake my head. Sighing heavily as I press my back against the wall, sliding down it while he sits beside me after another breath, "Which one...?" I let my eyes lift to see him fully, and he flinches away from the sorrow I feel pouring from my body,
"Both of them... and I've been working so hard to convince them that you aren't a problem they need to worry about." His jaw slacks in the realization that while we were only trying to get Luke to stop being... well Luke, that it may have just ruined something big for me. His brows press together and his mouth opens and closes a few times before he finally settles on,
"You are with two of the hottest girls I have ever seen?" His eyes are wide and I know this is a serious question, so might as well drop the bomb while it's all still raw,
"Three... Stacie too, and yes they all know about it, they are with each other also." Chewing my lip I let my eyes slip closed, heaving a sigh of indignance, "Why can't it ever just be simple... just be okay? I was finally able to crack through Aubrey's hard shell this week..." I lift my hands to rub my face, groaning before I push up from the wall. Jesse does the same, shrugging idly as I'm sure it's taking time for him to process all of this new information,
"THREE?!" There he is, he then rants about how he can't even get one, and I get three in the same amount of time. It makes me laugh a few times, that is until we get to my house, "Good luck with that, just tell them the truth, Luke was trying to ask you on a date so you used me to rebuff." Nodding at his suggestion I wave him off, staring up at the house for a moment before I start walking,
"He is right, you know, just tell them the truth and what they do with it is their prerogative." My sword chimes in with a tone akin to indignance, "Not like it would have killed them not to assume the worst and run away." Suddenly I feel I have the right to be irritated, however, I won't act on it, that would help nothing. Pressing into the door I find all three lovely ladies standing right in front of me, arms crossed,
"What was that, Beca?" Chloe, seems she isn't one to be patient, though I've been told by some pretty solid sources that she's rivaled Aubrey in holding the jealousy award many times, "Why were you two holding hands?" My brow quirks and I smirk a little, which seems to disarm them, as it does every single other time I've used it,
"What was that, you two?" I question in return, tilting my head, "Why did you run off instead of asking me right there?" I look to Stacie, who seems the most subdued at this point, "Ah, you wanted to tattle on me and make sure Stace was on your side even though all you know up to this point was that I was pulling my hand from his?" My eyes wander back and forth between them, each one looking ridiculously sexy in their uniforms, arms crossed to bring the swell of their breasts up just enough-
"Focus! I think you got them!" I snap back to reality, it seems she's right, they stand awkwardly now, their confident demeanor nearly sweltered,
"The fact of the matter is, we saw you holding hands with him, you could have been pulling your hand away because you saw us coming." Aubrey, of course, is the first one to put up a good front, and I don't think she was ready for me to shrug it away,
"Or you saw me rejecting him again, or you saw us trying to make sure Luke stopped asking me out, or you saw me pulling my hand from his after he pulled me out the door because he was excited to get out of work... I mean the possibilities are endless." A blaring horn behind us interrupts the escalating accusation I'm sure would have come from the wall I was speaking to,
"Let's get this show on the road pitches! We got a long way to go!" Amy hollered, much to my relief. Turning back to them I just shake my head, snatching my bag from beside the door before I walk out and take my place behind Amy. I'm quick to set my duffel bag beside me, no need to stoke the fire, but I'm in no mood to let them rattle at me all the way there.
So far the bus ride isn't awful, just listening to my music and watching the sights go by. When we stop to fill up I volunteer to go get snacks, taking the list and heading inside. When I step out with three bags in my hand I see the girls hovered over Amy, who is laying on the ground,
"Shot! They shot her with a flying burrito!" I see Lilly turn away and giggle a little bit, only to look abashed at seeing me. She shrugs and bolts back onto the bus, my brow quirking as I get close enough to spy Amy sitting up, trying to get Cynthia Rose to stop insisting she needs mouth to mouth. Sure enough, her front is covered in Mexican food, and the smell is atrocious,
"Amy there's a bathroom you can clean up in, I'll get the girls back in place." Shifting the bags to a single arm I offer the open one down to help her up, needing to hold my breath a little as she waddles off to the store.
After snacks are doled out and Amy is back driving we wind up singing a song or two together, enjoying this time we have where everyone seems to just focus on their hatred for the Trebles. What they did to Amy was inexcusable, I think we all want to win more so because of it, stick it to the man and all that. When I point out she still has a little burrito behind her ear she shakes her head,
"Leave it... it fuels my hate fire." Fire indeed, her eyes shine bright and deadly all at once. Without warning the bus lurches a bit, a small pop sounding out before we have to pull over because we have stopped,
"What the hell?" Aubrey pipes up, looking like she's on the verge of a mental breakdown all of a sudden,
"Um…it's pretty cool actually. I think we're just running out of gas." Amy answers, refusing to look back at our captain,
"No, that can't be. You just filled the tank." She takes a few dangerous steps towards the front, Amy's eyes flickering up to the mirror, signaling for help from me,
"Yeah, I did. And, yet maybe I didn't, because I got hit by flying Mexican food." With those words the vehicle gives a final groan and stops completely, "And…we're out." Shrinking into her seat, Amy bites her lower lip and stares at the fuel gauge, willing it to suddenly be full,
"A-ca-scuse me?" I watch Aubrey saunter forward a little more, my hand sliding towards her on the bar that keeps me from Amy, it's enough to give the blonde monster approaching pause,
"A-ca-believe it. Man, what are we gonna do?" She finally looks back, eyes fluttering at how close she is to being pulverized,
"Maybe we could call…" A certain redhead comes into my peripherals, Aubrey's hand flying up before she can even finish,
"No, don't even say it, Chloe, how dare you?!" Her heated gaze flickers to me, and I find I'm in no mood to argue over Jesse issues again. Thankfully Amy steps right back into the spotlight,
"No, actually that is a really good idea, I've got Bumpers number." My jaw drops at her incrimination, and I can practically hear Aubrey's jaw click shut as she growls through her teeth,
"Why do you have Bumper's number?" The tension is thick, and I'm quick to stand as Amy can't even muster a good reply,
"Come on, they can't be too far away, we need to get our things out and ready..." I mediate for once, gesturing to all the girls while Amy gets Bumper on the phone.
We couldn't have arrived at semi-finals fast enough, the anger and tension between everyone in that van was suffocating at the least. Amy and Bumper fighting at the forefront of course, though sometimes I couldn't tell if they wanted to kill each other or do something quite the opposite. I chastised 'the trio' once we are out of earshot, their cold glares directed mostly at Jesse for the majority of the ride. I could practically see him balling up into himself as he tried everything not to look at any of them, or even at me,
"What do you expect Beca you never explained what happened." Chloe has the nerve, and I'm quick round on her,
"Luke asked me out on a date so he was helping me rebuff, now if you will excuse me, I need to go freshen up and you three need to figure out what your problem is before I decide this isn't worth it anymore." My threat rings true, I may love them all and I may have a lot of my memories back from the time I spent with all of them, but I'm so ridiculously tired of having to defend myself for nothing. I walk into one of the more private changing rooms, only one other girl who stares at herself in the mirror over in the corner. She gives me an eery look but when I blink her gaze is right back to the mirror, probably because I'm competition. I head to the opposite side and heave my stuff onto one of the desks, slumping into the chair and resting my head in my arms, to frustrated to care about getting ready right now. I think about how angry the girls are making me, how angry I am at Luke for thinking he can use me to bother Jesse, how angry I am at Bumper for treating my best friend, and how angry I am that I'm at the epicenter of all of this corruption. Slamming my fist against the desk I lift my head, yelping as the girl who had been across the room now stands right behind me,
"Sorry." All she says, tears drenching her face as she leans down and suddenly fangs sink into my shoulder. Crying out I jerk forward but I can't seem to get away from her, my shoulder turning black, the corruption rising along my neck and down my arm. My brain is going fuzzy as I watch the tendrils reach up along my ear and cheek, and my eye on that side starts turning red. I can barely think, amidst the searing pain and anger still residing I feel myself scream... but my mouth is closed...
"Beca come on fight this! Summon! Something!" My sword cries out for me, my eyes slamming shut as I summon it forth and crack my elbow into the corrupted girl's stomach. With a screeching cry she dislodges and I turn with one hard swing of my good arm and she's finished. Pulling my sword from her body I watch as the corruption fizzles and disappears into nothing, the girl blinking a few times as she wakes before looking up at me. She freezes in place, then scrambles to her feet, tearing out of the room like she's seen a ghost. Turning to the mirror I wince, the side where she bit me looks like the corruption tore through my skin, splattered in slice marks from my cheeks down to my wrist. The eye on that side is completely red, and even if I can see through it fine that definitely wouldn't be the prettiest thing to all of a sudden wake up to,
"You about ready Beca-roo?" Amy suddenly bursts into the door, and I lift the collar of my uniform, snatching one of my extra shirts to act like I'm patting down my face, covering it well,
"Oh yeah, I'll be out in a sec!" I give her a half-hearted smile, and it's almost like she can see through the lie. After another calculated glance she nods firmly,
"Alright, we are on in fifteen and I'm sure Aubrey will have your head if you aren't out here in five." With that she shuts the door, a breath of relief leaving me. I don't know why I felt the need to hide it, and I'm ridiculously glad my ring didn't rat me out,
"You're welcome, and I know how you are feeling about them right now, so I wouldn't have done that unless I needed to." I thank her again, pulling out my makeup and going to work on the black shapes that litter my face and neck.
A whole bottle of my foundation later and I think I look good enough, the five minutes have passed and my eye doesn't look so bad anymore. At least I can see my iris now, rolling it around my eyelid a few times it seems to just look agitated if anything, easily blamed on allergies or rubbing it harshly. Stepping out I walk over to the group, Aubrey the first to comment,
"Glad you could finally join us Beca, what did you do to your uniform?!" Her voice gets higher and higher in pitch as I automatically look to where the girl bit me, small tears along the fabric. Shrugging a bit I mumble an apology, but a small voice at the back of my head creeps forward,
.:At least I showed up to the stupid thing, get off my ass!:. Blinking a few times I look down at my ring, the item warming a bit,
"Probably side effects of how much corruption was able to sink into you, I will try to take care of it from in here." I nod and lift my eyes to where the group stares now, watching as some team from another state destroys 'Blame it on the Boogie'. Everyone murmurs about this guy, the Footnotes knocking it out of the park while we still can't even get our little cheer right,
.:How stupid, they think with this old worn-out routine they can beat that!? Ha!:. I lift my hand and give a good smack to my forehead, earning a few odd looks, but no one comments as we line up to go out. Walking onto the stage is a bit harsh, the lights blur my vision a bit, the angry voice at the back of my head only growing as we begin our song. Looking around I find more than half of the audience isn't even watching, the judges barely look up, the Footnotes start making fun of us... without warning suddenly 'Bulletproof' bursts from my chest, earning a few surprised glances from my teammates, and the audience. Earning a few smiles and nods from the judges gives me a slight bit of hope, but the way Aubrey glares back at me puts me right back on the edge.
Marching off stage I still can't see well, I'm sweating and out of breath, my heart is beating a lot harder than it should be. I hear the telltale clack of heels chasing after me, and then I finally hear it,
"What the hell Beca? Were you trying to screw us up?" I round on the blonde captain, the voice in my head screaming at me to give her a piece of my mind. Pressing it down with a gulp I purse my lips and respond,
"Are you serious?" Incredulously slips from me, the group now surrounding us as if to hide the impending scene. When the voice goes ignored I suddenly feel a flash of pain in my shoulder, wincing as it rips through me,
"Newsflash. This isn't the Beca Show." Aubrey deadpans, and I find I have to blink back to the present, swiping my hand over my face, makeup smudging on my hand,
"Okay, I'm sorry that I messed you up, but in case you hadn't noticed, everybody pretty much dozed off during our set." I use my good arm to wave out towards the stage, then breathe deeply as I try to catch up with myself, pain getting worse the more I struggle with it,
"It's not your job to decide what we do and when we do it. Why don't you ask the rest of the group how they felt about your little improvisation?" Her eyes are cold and distant, the voice in my head playing off my insecurities,
.:She doesn't love you, you know, she only sticks around because she loves Chloe:. A harsh growl leaves my throat as I force myself to ignore the words, turning to my best friend,
"Amy?" I try to say as smoothly as possible, but some of the girls are looking at me a little funny now, I try to wipe the sweat from my brow again, resting my hands on my hips as I await an answer,
"It was cool. But it did take us a little bit by surprise." She gestures towards Aubrey, indicative that she was fine, even if she had messed the dance up a little bit,
"Yeah, a lot by surprise." My gaze snaps back to the blonde, Chloe and Stacie giving me odd looks as well now. The two of us are far too deep in our rage to notice anything off, but it almost feels like the pain is spreading again, getting bigger. Out of the corner of my eye, Amy lifts her fingers to show 'a little' but she barely verbally disagrees with Aubrey, not wanting the brunt of her anger. What I see behind the woman I love eyes isn't anger any longer, it's almost like... hatred,
"I told you she wasn't a Bella." She spits from between her lips, my heart nearly stopping as my head fills up with 'I told you so's' from the little demon tearing away at my skin,
"Aubrey, don't." Chloe suddenly jumps in, gesturing to me, Stacie starting to carefully approach me from the side,
"No, that's okay-" Before I can finish Chloe lifts her hand to stop me, but that doesn't stop the raging captain,
"Your attitude sucks. You're a grade-A pain in my ass, and I know you're hooking up with Jesse." With those words echoing in my brain, I feel something inside snap. My entire body flexes, I can't see... I can't see anything, someone's hand is on my arm and it hurts so very bad, I can feel the corruption spreading,
"Aubrey! For fuck's sake, look at her!" Chloe's voice, but I don't know what's happening, I hear Stacie trying desperately to whisper in my ear,
"Whatever that voice says, it's not true, we are here for you, we love you..." Suddenly Chloe is in front of me, my trembling hands in hers as her voice reverberates through my ears,
"Becs, come on Becs fight this... Bree her eyes are all red... I can't make it stop..." I see Aubrey standing off where she was, her gaze worried but her body language still on the verge of uncaring. Pulling my hands from the redhead in front of me I suddenly feel lighter than air, the other girls not knowing what to do as I move. Stepping fully away from Stacie and Chloe I move towards Aubrey, my eyes clearer than they've been in a few hours. She looks almost terrified as I float closer and closer, then a voice that isn't mine moves from my lips, whispering inches from her skin,
"Don't worry, we won't bother Chloe anymore, we have what we need now and you get the privilege of getting rid of Beca, don't you? Take care of Stace too, will ya?" I have no control, the despair I see in her eyes budging the corrupted none as it turns my body, and even though I see so many hands reaching out, bodies trying to block my path, when I blink we are outside. The exhaustion I feel as my legs take off at a dead sprint is nothing compared to the emotional ringer this is putting me through. Aubrey doesn't love me... Chloe didn't stop her words but stopped mine...? I don't understand... I don't want to do this anymore... I don't want to fight anymore.
It feels like hours later that we finally fall to our knees, the darkness only making the thick woods more confusing. Crawling into a little alcove within one of the tree trunks, I find my hold had loosened, watching where this being was taking me. It seems it didn't really have a goal other than to get me away from the girls, and now it had no idea what to do, how to get home. I guess this is what it feels like to be possessed for the first time? Shaking my head I find my bodies head shakes as well, so I push, moving the arm that was bitten, saying a few words that I'd heard Aubrey mutter when she removed the black ooze the first time. I feel little resistance to what I'm doing, perhaps this thing wore itself out too much? I learn more every time we come into contact, but I hadn't ever had this issue since my leg.
.:Perhaps I did, but now everyone knows:. I hear whispered in my ears, then like a whip through my imagination, I feel a deep tug,
"Yeah, everyone knows you failed." I hear the telltale sound of a slicing sword, the tightness in my chest dissipating as my eyes are finally my own, my arm burning only a little, as I scramble my tired body up, "I only know which way we came from, not which way it was headed." My ring inputs and I lift the little item, kissing it. I hear a giggle then it feels like the sword is tugging me in a certain direction, so I walk. I walk until I can find some semblance of energy, then I run, faster than I thought possible.
Finally bursting through another wall of trees my chest floods with relief, I found the road! I feel my finger heat up as I head in the right direction,
"That was rough, I called the girls, they were out looking for you. Now that we are in range I can tell them to come get you." A hot iron presses to my heart as it thumps hard against my chest,
"What am I even going to say to them... 'Sorry I didn't tell you I was corrupted, thought it would just go away'?" My tone is deadpan and that receives a laugh from my ring, albeit an exhausted one,
"I don't even know, just make sure you get some rest, I'm going to nap... and yes before you ask, I do exhaust my resources the same way you do. So naps are a necessity." I shake my head at practically thinking of this jewelry as a real person, but instead of responding I merely nod and continue my pace, making it to the gas station where flying Mexican food existed. Pushing inside I head into the bathroom to relieve myself, buying a few snacks as I sit and wait.
When the Treblemaker bus pulls up, I find no one wants to make a fuss in front of them, which is fine by me. Instead of even getting up and into the bus, I slump down against the stairs not saying a word,
"So the weirdest Bella got laid and I didn't?! But we won!" I hear Bumper whine at the front of the bus, rolling my eyes as I lean against the railing. This is going to be such a long ride home, the silence already setting in as an awkward tension keeps me from resting my eyes. I make sure I radiate 'get the fuck away' energy to anyone I might hear approaching, and while I do hear footsteps, no one attempts bothering my hunched form.
Thankfully, the Trebles drop us off in record time, and as soon as the doors open I'm down and into the house before anyone else can grab their bags. It's just easier to shut people out, so I do that instead of facing the problem. Heading straight up to my room I shut the door behind me, moving into my private bathroom to take a shower that's so hot it feels like it could melt away my skin. Slowly lowering myself into the wide cascade of searing hot droplets I rest my head against the back corner and close my eyes.
So in case anyone didn't catch that:
.: = Statement from the corrupted
Thank you for reading, I'll see you next week! Speedy