Chloe was feeling almost overwhelmed with joy at her current situation; Beca was in her arms and had initiated the entire interaction. Chloe had been so worried that Beca would still be angry at her for leaving Barden so suddenly that it had never occurred to her that she would be missed to such an extent. Despite her positive persona Chloe had always had self-esteem issues, and she was completely unaware of the impact she had on those around her. In this moment Chloe felt at peace with herself and let herself breathe in Beca's scent, something that always helped calm her down. She ran her fingers gently between Beca's shoulder blades, until she was effectively stroking the girl's back. Despite no words being said, Chloe could sense the tension radiating off of her best friend, and knew that a few delicate movements would help alleviate it. What Chloe didn't realise was that Beca's body felt tense because it had almost seized up with excitement. Her whole body was shaking in response to the return of her favourite redhead, and made Beca realise that she would eventually have to do something about these feelings she had been ignoring for months. Meanwhile Daisy was looking at the pair with a mixture of jealousy and sadness. Seeing Beca see comfortable in the arms of this Chloe girl finally confirmed something to Daisy that she had been unwilling to recognise before. Beca was so different with her bestfriend showed how little Daisy actually knew her; Beca was being openly vulnerable and incredibly affectionate, two things that Daisy had only ever see the girl avoid. Daisy still hadn't figured out that Chloe was the person Beca never had the courage to pursue, but she could still sense that there was something between the pair. It was like they had a telepathic connection, communicating sentences at a time with a single facial expression. At this moment Daisy saw Beca shoot a particularly pointed look at Chloe, who smiled almost painfully widely in response. Chloe Beale was a knockout, not just classically beautiful but even the vibe she gave off was mesmerising.
"Becs and I are going to listen to her new mixes on the quad then I'll meet Stacie and Fat Amy at four when Becs has class."
Beca barely had time to protest when Chloe stopped her with a warning tone to her voice.
"Becs. You can't just skip your classes. I know you think philosophy is a waste of time but at this point even I know more about virtue ethics than you do. And all I did was read the module handbook."
"How did you know I would take that module?"
"Really? Come on Becs, it gives you an array of obnoxious responses you can use on your dad and the stepmonster. That seems like a pretty good motivation."
"Chlo I'm not that bad, come on." Beca rolled her eyes in amusement.
"So you're telling me if your dad asked you if you were happy you wouldn't deflect the question by explaining how the concept of happiness as presented by Aristotle is incoherent and vague."
"Ugh fine you're right I would. Can we go now?" With that remark the pair said their respective goodbyes to the other Bellas and headed to the quad, leaving the girls speechless. Fat Amy broke the silence in her usual unique way.
"Guys I've missed Bhloe. When are we gonna make them get their heads out of their arses and fuck?" Stacie snorted and butted in.
"Amy! You could put things a little more delicately… But guys she's right. The eye fucking and grinding situation was a bit much. And I always forget about their whole silent communication thing, it's cute but also a little creepy. They made plans in one second, in silence. If that isn't a sign they should be together I don't know what is."
Daisy's mind was reeling at this insinuation, but a small voice next to her interrupted her thoughts.
"Stacie? What's a Bhloe?"
"Oh Jade you poor sweet baby, I knew you had a sheltered childhood but I didn't know the extent of it until know." Stacie proceeded to give Jade an in depth description of the other kind of blowie. The rest of the Bellas cackled until Jessica took pity and explained the whole Bhloe situation to Jade and by extension Daisy. The girls planned out ways to bring Beca and Chloe together before going their separate ways for the day.
Beca felt like she was dreaming. She was leaning against her favourite tree with Chloe, watching the girl focus on her mixes. Seeing Chloe's eyes light up at each little thing she thought was "amazing Becs, truly incredible" made Beca's insides feel like they were turning to mush. Chloe was just so proud of her and had so much faith in her abilities, without questioning that Beca might not be successful. It was this unwavering support that had Beca biting her lip almost to the point of drawing blood, as she considered how to address her feelings.
"What's wrong Becs?" Chloe was looking at her, taking her hand gently in concern.
"Huh? Oh nothing, just thinking you know?" Beca just wanted the ground to swallow her up, she sounded so stupid. Chloe rolled her eyes, a habit she had picked up from Beca.
"I have been known to think from time to time Becs. What were you thinking about? You know I'm always here if you need anything." Beca hesitated at this.
"It's just. I've been going through a lot these last few months, and I needed you. But you weren't here, and I had no way of contacting you. I'm not angry I just, I still feel a little betrayed." Beca's voice cracked as she tried to explain herself without being unfair to Chloe. Her eyes betrayed her, as the tears started to form. Chloe took one look at her and brought Beca into a tight embrace, feeling her own eyes start to water too. Both girls felt an atmosphere of raw emotion, they were clearly needing to process the situation, but neither would admit exactly why she was feeling so emotional. Finally Beca sniffled and the pair separated from the intimate embrace.
"Chlo?
"Yeah Becs?"
"I need to tell you some things that you missed since your trip overseas. Could we maybe talk about it later?"
"Of course sweetie, but why can't we talk about it now?"
"I.. just… I-uh need to be more.. relaxed if I'm gonna be honest with you. I need to be blackout so I won't remember telling you something I'll probably regret."
"Sure Becs, whatever you feel you need." Chloe was completely perplexed at this, she couldn't wait to find out exactly what had got Beca so worked up. The pair got back to listening to Beca's mixes, until Chloe eventually forced Beca to go to her philosophy lecture.
To pass the time Chloe got coffee with Stacie, and the pair caught up fully.
"How are things with Beca?" Chloe sighed sadly.
"The same as always. She's wonderful, amazing, the love of my life. But she just sees me as her best friend, and I abandoned her. There's nothing I can do to make her feel the way I want her to, so I'm just frustrated. But I've also missed her so much, and seeing her again makes me realise that a part of me was missing in Zambia."
"Oh Chloe. I can't even imagine how awful it must be for the same person to both break your heart but also be taking up permanent residence in it. But Beca's just oblivious, that doesn't mean she isn't interested in you. Or favourite dumb little DJ just needs a push."
"Stace, please. Don't get my hopes up when we both know Beca isn't attracted to me. She just trusts me, there's a big difference."
"Sweetie. Beca literally threw herself at you when you arrived and she wouldn't even remove herself from your lap so you could finish your breakfast. She clung to you as if you would disappear from her at any second. The only time she even hugs the rest of us is when Fat Amy physically forces her to. Her physical intimacy with you has to be indicative of some sort of platonic feelings."
"Stace I told myself the same thing during Beca's freshmen year but look what happened. She kissed Jesse and gave herself to him emotionally and physically in ways I will never get to experience with her. So please, just let it go. It's less painful when I don't have false hope
"Fine. But you need to let the Bellas go through with our plan. We have a real high school style plan to test Beca's feelings. I won't tell you the details, but you'll see."
"Just don't be mean to Becs and push her too hard, it's not her fault she don't like girls."
"Oh honey, have you seen her? The eyeliner, those ear monstrosities, and all that plaid. Sometimes stereotypes are entirely accurate."
The conversation continued in that manner until the pair eventually sauntered back to Stacie's dorm to prepare for the evening.
Stacie had organised with the rest of the Bellas (minus Beca) to meet at Beca and Amy's room at 9pm for some classic Bellas bonding. They were going to spend the evening playing juvenile drinking games and drinking obscene amounts to fuel some honest discussions and embarrassing confessions. Stacie was excited, as it would provide the perfect opportunity to make some progress with Project Bhloe. She was determined that by the end of the week some professions of feelings would be made, and Chloe would be in significantly less emotional pain.
Chloe and Stacie appeared at Beca and Amy's door at exactly 9pm dressed in "pyjamas", with backpacks full of snacks alcohol and mixer.
"Hello?" Beca stumbled to the door, her hair was tousled adorably and her eyes looked bleary from sleep. Chloe melted a little, Beca had clearly just been woken up from a nap and had never looked more endearing. She had a cropped tank top and flannel shorts on, both black obviously. Only Beca could manage to look so hot in pyjamas, with messy hair and a make up free face. Stacie eyed Beca up appreciatively.
"Nice body Bec, when did you start working out?" Beca blushed, looking even more confused than before.
"What? Uh, over summer? I run to clear my head sometimes."
"You really need to stop hiding that body under oversized plaid." Chloe knew Stacie was just being her usual flirtatious self, but she could still feel herself growing resentful that Stacie could flirt without any serious consequences.
"Ugh no don't tell Shortstack that she has a good body, I don't need her taking any of my boyfriends away. When it's hidden under plaid I get to keep them to myself."
Fat Amy's interjection made Beca chuckle, and she had now suitably woken up to let Stacie and Chloe in, while they explained the plan for a Bellas slumber party.
"But you're not in pyjamas? Every time we have a slumber party we wear pyjamas."
"Becs we are in pyjamas, silly."
"Chlo I have underwear bigger than those shorts, and I want my shirt back."
"Well then I need to take you shopping for some smaller underwear. And you know this shirt is my favourite. It's just so comfy, and it fits me better than you anyway."
"Ugh fine, but don't steal any more of my clothes."
"Are you too done? Cause the others have been knocking for a while now…"
Fat Amy let the remaining Bellas in, smirking as they wolf whistled pointedly in Beca's direction.
"Damn Shawshank. When did you get so hot?" Cynthia rose leered and gave Beca a once over slowly, her eyes lingering on Beca's toned stomach, with evident abdominals and her ribs protruding a little. Beca looked exasperated.
"I. Ugh. I was sleeping okay, and this is comfy. Why do you guys have to make this weird. I'll just change then you can get back to normal."
"Nope not happening Bec, you have to let me appreciate—"
"All that." Chloe contributed, chuckling. The girls chatted for a while, before settling down in a circle to play the carefully planned games. Fortunately only Beca and Chloe were unaware of what was going on, the pair too busy having another silent conversation. The game started off as normal with each Bella saying something they had never done, but after two complete circuits things started to truly get interesting as that was when the targeting began.
"Don't forget a story is required if you have to drink!" Stacie smirked wickedly.
"Never have I ever kissed a girl." Beca felt her heart start to race when Chloe drank, at least now she knew if she got rejected it wouldn't be because Chloe wasn't into girls.
"Come on guys it's no big deal, you're basically supposed to experiment in college. And I've always been open with my sexuality, doesn't matter the gender. It's the personality that counts." Her eyes lingered on Beca, who was too flustered to pick up on the very obvious insinuation being made.
"Never have I ever had a dirty dream." Jade looked embarrassed as she said this, the poor girl was very shy about anything sex related.
"I, well I have a crush. And sometimes I dream about us being together, you know how it would feel to have her inside me and what her breasts—"
"Okay moving on." Fat Amy interrupted Daisy before she could go into more detail. The girl was surprisingly promiscuous so had drank a lot already, her filter was long gone. Chloe, who although also a little inebriated was still mentally sharp, astutely picked up on Daisy's lingering glances at Beca. She wondered whether Beca had any idea of the freshmen's crush on her, she figured they could talk about it later, as it would give Chloe the chance to see exactly where Beca was girlwise.
"I like to fool around in the shower sometimes, so I dream about it from time to time. Usually I can't tell who my partner is, I just feel what they're doing to me. And my ladyjam is always playing in the background."
"Ugh Chlo you have such a thing for showers." Beca's response to Chloe prompted a fuller explanation of how before Chloe had accosted Beca in the shower she had been fooling around with Tom. Stacie was about to give her "never have I ever" when Beca piped up.
"I, uh. Have dreams about someone I have a.. thing for. We're, umm.. always together.. and all that." Beca tailed off, blushing profusely and refusing to take her eyes off the floor. The rest of the Bellas were shocked, their silence speaking volumes. No one expected Beca to be the type to have dirty dreams, Chloe recovered the quickest and pulled Beca into a side hug.
"Awh Becs you don't need to be embarrassed, it's good to have dreams like that. It's nice to have someone you want to be intimate with, you should never be ashamed of that."
Beca buried her head into Chloe's shoulder, hoping the rest of the game would be less embarrassing. Unfortunately it only got worse.
"Never have I ever doubted my sexuality."
"Never have I ever dumped someone because of liking someone else."
"Never have I ever been attracted to other girls."
"Never have I ever had a crush on a close friend."
"Never have I ever shared a bed with my crush."
"Never have I ever ran away to avoid rejection."
"Never have I ever refused to admit my feelings to my crush."
Beca and Chloe had both drank copious quantities of vodka at this point, and were completely intoxicated. Any embarrassment from either girl had dissipated at this point, as they were too focused on staying upright. However any drunkenness fell away at the final question from Lily, who in her mind was shouting in order for her sneaky idea to be voiced.
"Never have I ever had a crush on Chloe."
Several of the Bellas, perhaps unsurprisingly, drank. Chloe's eyes widened when she saw a movement out of the corner of her eye. Beca had downed her drink.