The next morning Beca came to slowly, feeling more well rested than she had since before her parents divorced. Her whole body was relaxed and warm, and for the first time in years her head wasn't pounding and there wasn't a dull ache behind her eyes that not even coffee seemed to fully fix. Beca was too busy enjoying her current state to fully take in her surroundings, or more precisely why she was so comfortable and warm. Beca had woken in her own bed so hadn't initially realised what was special about this particular morning – this changed as soon as the bundle of warmth she was on top of moved. Beca's eyes snapped open and she lifted her head, looking at a delicate collarbone and chest that was rising and falling in a gentle rhythm. Chloe. Beca's mind went back to the previous night and she realised that she must have fallen asleep in Chloe's arms during that god-awful horror movie. Beca normally hated sleeping in such close proximity to anyone, but having her head nuzzled into Chloe's chest felt like home. Beca's arms had found their way around Chloe's neck in the night and Chloe's were grasping Beca's waist tightly. As absurd as it sounds, and Beca would never admit this, but it felt as if Chloe was protecting her from the dangers of the world. And Beca didn't hate the feeling of their legs intertwined either. Like at all. In fact—
"Beca?" Daisy barged into the room carelessly without so much as a knock. She clearly had no idea how to function as a considerate human Beca thought bitterly to herself. She still hadn't woken up fully so didn't realise how the position that she was currently in must look to anyone with eyes, such as the overly eager freshman that was currently standing gormlessly in front of her. Beca couldn't help but notice that Daisy looked particularly nice at, what she presumed was, such an early time of day. She'd clearly made an effort, Beca wondered whether Daisy was going on a date later or something, as it definitely looked like she was trying to impress someone. It didn't even cross Beca's mind that she was the very person that the freshman was trying to attract the attention of.
"I… uh. I can come back?"
"What? Why? Now's fine what do you need?" Beca knew that her words sounded a little harsh, but she just didn't have the patience to be nicer to the girl in front of her. Daisy was silent for a few seconds, trying to process the scene in front of her. She felt incredibly awkward just watching Beca and Chloe, who were wrapped up together so tightly that she couldn't quite figure out where one body ended and the other began. So this was a lovers embrace, Daisy tried to fight back tears as she realised fully that Beca was a completely different person around people that she truly trusted and cared for, and loved.
"I was looking for Chloe, I wanted to ask her something and the other Bellas said you would know where she would be."
"Well you found her." Beca chuckled, the first genuine laugh that she had ever directed at Daisy. Her face was full of mirth, and she looked completely content. Daisy felt oddly happy about this even though the cause of her crush's wonderful mood crushed her. Daisy assumed from the scene in front of her that the pair clearly had a far more physical relationship than the other Bellas were aware of. Beca realised that Daisy didn't know how to respond to such an upbeat version of herself, the girls eyes were a little too wide and she was doing a remarkable impression of a frightened deer. Beca did the girl a favour for once and filled the silence.
"It's just funny that last year if anyone was looking for me I would be with Chloe and vice versa. But she has been gone for a couple months, it's nice to be back to that, even if it's just for a little while." Chloe let out a melodious chuckle indicating that she was finally awake and cuddled Beca even closer to her, savouring the fact that the sophomore melted into the embrace rather than tensing up as she used to. Clearly she wasn't averse to Chloe's touch anymore.
"Aww Becs you're adorable. My little cutie." Rather than rolling her eyes at this as Daisy expected, Beca smiled that insanely hot half smile thing that she does and blew a raspberry into Chloe's chest.
"Not cute Chlo. Badass."
"If you say so sweetie." Daisy was about to leave the room as she was increasingly aware of the intimate moment that she was interrupting. As she turned to do so Chloe stopped her.
"Dais? How are you? What did you want to talk to me about? As you can see I'm not exactly ready for the day but if you give me ten minutes I'll shower and change and you can chat to me over breakfast. Sound good?"
"Uhh? Yeah? That sounds good, but it's noon so you might want brunch things instead?"
"We slept til noon? Becs why didn't you wake me, you know I like morning work outs." Beca snickered at the playfully whiny tone of Chloe's voice.
"I can't wake you when I'm unconscious Chlo."
"Ugh I hate it when you're all reasonable Becs. Go back to being moody that's much more fun to ruin for you."
Daisy couldn't help smiling at the pair's vibe and left the room to allow Chloe to get ready for the day. True to her word Chloe came into the kitchen where Daisy was waiting a few minutes later looking like she'd spent hours perfecting her appearance. Her clothes were simple, just faded black skinny jeans and an oversized gray sweatshirt. These were clearly Becas and somehow the more edgy look that Chloe was currently sporting gave her a mysterious aura and made Daisy stare at her slightly gormlessly.
"Hey Dais, are you okay? You look a little lost hun."
"I, it's just. I've never seen you wear such dark clothes." Chloe looked down at herself, seemingly forgetting that her current attire.
"Oh yeah I didn't have any more clean clothes with me so I borrowed some of Becs."
"Ah, that's nice."
"Yeah that one certainly knows where to buy comfy things from. So what did you want to ask me about?" Daisy faltered a little at this, trying to be careful with how you approached a subject that made her a little embarrassed.
"This is going to sound stupid. But I uh. I was wondering if you could help me. With Beca. She doesn't seem to like me, like at all, and I don't know how to fix that." Daisy's words came out fast as she struggled to look Chloe in the eye.
"Aww Dais that's so sweet. But it's only Becs. She's so easy to please, you hardly need my help with that."
"I definitely do Chloe! Like is there anything that she doesn't like, umm so does she have any pet peeves or things like that which I should avoid doing?"
"Ah, yes. A fair few actually. Don't: try to make her like you, wake her up under any circumstances, take her headphones out, use more words than necessary when you need something from her, make her watch a movie, come to her room without checking first, surprise her in general, downplay her mixes, make short jokes, bring up her parents, make fun of her—"
"Oh wow, would you mind writing all of that down? I've definitely done a lot of those. She just makes me so nervous and it's hard not to babble, and I always try to make her like me just as I thought that would be the best way to go."
"Daisy take a breath, it's okay. You're just overthinking things a little too much. But you'll be fine I know it." The two continued chatting for a while until Daisy felt a lot better, she felt so grateful for the older girl and all her kindness.
That night the Bellas were due to go to an acapella party so were gathered in Stacie's kitchen for a potluck so that they could all get ready and pregame together. True to form Beca was running late as she had been immersed in a particularly challenging mix. The sophomore burst into the kitchen breathing heavily, with a backpack on clutching a pyrex dish.
"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I got distracted." Beca put her contribution on the table quickly and smiled awkwardly at her friends, her eyes meeting Chloe's.
"What did you make Beca?" Daisy kept her question short and not seem too desperate, remembering the advice Chloe had given her that afternoon. Beca seemed to appreciate her efforts and didn't give her such a snarky response as usual.
"It's courgette and lemon pappardelle with pine nuts." Beca's cheeks flushed a little as she spoke, Daisy didn't have to wait long to find out why.
"Aww Becs you're the best! I didn't think anyone would make something I can eat, let alone my favourite!" Chloe's face lit up as she eyed the food, and she bounded over to Beca and pulled her into a tight embrace. She grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her over to the spare seat beside her.
"Oh I'm so sorry Chloe, I always forget that you don't eat meat." Stacie smiled at Chloe apologetically and gratefully at Beca.
"Shawshank never forgets anything about her beloved Beale."
"She's not my beloved—"
"Beca forgets the day but never Chloe's eating habits."
"Why doesn't Chloe eat meat?" Daisy's interruption of the Bella's lighthearted chatter as her curiosity took over.
"Animals are like totes adorbs and I could never contribute to their murder. Once I realised that meat is dead animals I stopped eating it. Duh!" Beca smirked as she finished a spot on impression of Chloe, even capturing the older girl's mannerisms and facial expressions.
"Aww Bec you do listen to me!" While Chloe was chuckling at Beca's antics the rest of the Bellas stared at their leader in slightly stunned silence, shocked that Beca was physically being so perky, even if it was only for a few seconds.
The rest of the meal passed without event, as the girls got excited for the night ahead. Once everyone had gotten showered, and ready for the party they gathered in a circle in Stacie's living room. There were cushions scattered on the floor so everyone would be comfortable, as Stacie had an agenda with the pregame.
"Sit down gals!"
"Stace. Whyyyy." Beca's whining was both amusing and irrelevant as she sat down next to Chloe all the same, with Jade on her other side simply by chance.
"Beca, stop complaining so we can play."
"What are we playing? You know in Aus—"
"Ames I love you but we're not playing another one of your crazy games."
"Ugh fine, you twig bitches just don't appreciate greatness when it's right in front of you. I mean it's almost as if—"
"Yup Ames that's definitely it. So now you've said your piece we're good to start. The game is called chicken and it's so much fun." As she spoke Stacie's eyes glistened mischievously and a smirk graced her lips.
"How do you play?"
"Oh Jade, you sweet thing, of course you've never played this before. It's very simple, two people play at a time, so you play with the person to your right. The two face each other, gradually getting closer until one person is the chicken and pulls away. A good round of chicken is one where neither person pulls away and they actually make out. No pressure Bellas but I'm expecting at least one good round." Stacie chuckled at Jade's shocked expression and her eyes met Chloe's, the lingering glance between the pair communicating volumes silently. Chloe was incredibly grateful to the scheming sophomore and just hoped that this game would end the way she wanted, and she knew that Stacie had manoeuvred this situation for her benefit, even making sure that Beca was sitting next to Chloe. Beca zoned out while the girls went round in a circle playing, with the winners so far being Stacie, Amy, Cynthia Rose and surprisingly, Daisy. Beca had chuckled a little to herself when she saw the look of terror in Jade's face as Daisy got closer and closer—"Becs?"
"Huh?"
"It's our turn sweetie." Chloe gently reminded Beca that it was time for something she had been dreading. Beca was well aware of her attraction to her best friend, but she could ignore an attraction. What she couldn't ignore were actual romantic feelings, which she feared she would start to develop once she knew what it would be like to kiss Chloe. Beca knew that after that there would be no turning back, and she would actually have to act on it. The game may not require either person to kiss, but Beca knew that Chloe had a competitive streak in her just like she did, so it was very likely that neither of them would be backing down. The other Bellas waited with baited breath as Beca and Chloe slowly moved closer towards each other. Stacie had demanded that each pair stood up, starting at opposite ends of the room and walk into the centre until one chickened out. Beca and Chloe were no exception; within seconds they were only a stride apart. The tension in the room was palpable, as both Beca and Chloe hesitated momentarily before closing the gap between them. Unsurprisingly neither girl moved away, they became impossibly close and simultaneously their lips came together. Chloe's whole body was tingling as she felt Beca wrap her arms gently around Chloe's neck and her fingers gripped onto her fiery tresses. Beca's brain had gone into overdrive and it felt like she had no control over her body, it was acting on pure instinct. The pair became closer by the second, as both girls finally got to taste the girl she'd been dreaming about. Chloe was so lost in the moment that she felt like she was fantasising again, she couldn't quite believe that Beca was kissing her. And it wasn't just any kiss, it was truly incredible, the kind of kiss that she would be thinking about while taking a cold shower in the future. Beca's tongue had quickly found hers, and was somehow being passionate yet incredibly gentle. It felt like Beca was kissing with a genuine tenderness that also made Chloe's knees feel weak. Little did Chloe know that, although subconsciously, that was exactly what Beca was doing. The pair were moving in perfect synchronicity, moving to a rhythm that was theirs and theirs alone. Beca was completely overwhelmed with how amazing she felt to be finally living out one of her many fantasies, kissing Chloe just felt, right. No doubt the girl was a good kisser, but she was also soft and gentle, which somehow Beca hadn't anticipated.
While both girls felt like their kiss was gentle, it was a very different picture for the Bellas watching. The two were so close it was almost hard to tell where one body ended and the other began, and it looked like they were going to start shedding clothes at any second. Stacie smirked to herself, pleased that her plan had worked, but she also didn't want to subject the more sensitive Bellas to what she knew would follow, as she could see that Beca's hands were starting to wander.
"I think we have a winning pair guys." Stacie loudly interrupted the pair, as it had been several minutes of silent observation and the tension was overwhelming. Beca and Chloe stared at each other in stunned silence, waiting for someone to speak.
"Now that you two have finally got that first kiss out the way it's time for you to talk it out. Go to my room, and don't leave until it's sorted." Stacie swiftly grabbed both girls by the wrist and deposited them in her room, shutting the door behind her as she heading back to the other Bellas.