Chloe was completely frozen, unable to form words as she stared at Beca, willing the sophomore to take the lead for once. Beca looked equally shell-shocked, as she was pacing up and down Stacie's room, her eyes fixed on the floor. Chloe felt her stomach drop; if Beca couldn't even look her in the eye then she must regret the kiss. It must have been just because of the game, nothing more. Chloe sighed silently as she began to question every suspicion that she had felt over the last few days that maybe Beca reciprocated her feelings. In Chloe's experience when two people liked each other and they had kissed, that usually lead to more kissing and some sort of talk about where things were going. So the silence and obvious lack of kissing clearly meant that Beca didn't like her back. Chloe refused to admit to herself that "like" wasn't even close to a satisfactory description of her feelings.

Meanwhile Beca felt like crying with joy and frustration, she had finally kissed the girl she had been dreaming about for months, but was too scared to actually talk to her about it. Beca wanted more than anything for Chloe to comfort her and say everything was okay and for them to maybe kiss again, but she realised that this time it was her turn to take responsibility. Chloe was always the one taking the lead and it wasn't fair on her for Beca to expect her to say anything as Beca had given her no obvious indication that she was interested in the first place.

"Chlo. Uhh." Beca glanced nervously at Chloe as the girl's eyes snapped up at the sudden sound.

"Yeah Becs?" Chloe's voice sounded so timid that Beca just wanted to hold her in her arms and convey even the smallest bit of comfort to try and make her feel better. So, acting completely out of character, she did just that. Beca swiftly crossed the room and held Chloe in an intimate embrace. That single movement seemed to reassure the girl, Beca stroked Chloe's back as she felt the redhead let her chin rest on her shoulder. The pair stayed like that for what felt like hours, until Beca broke the silence, feeling bold as Chloe hadn't run away from her in complete disgust. Beca's hands dropped to Chloe's wrists and she stepped back so that she could look into her bestfriend's beautiful blue eyes.

"I like you Chloe. A lot." She mumbled the game changing utterance so softly that Chloe almost didn't hear her. Chloe stepped back and chuckled, giving Beca a dazzling smile that made her tingle all over.

"I like you too Becs. I kinda have to, you're my best friend."

"No Chlo. I like you."

"I know Becs, we're best friends."

"I don't like you as a friend."

"Wait what? So you've just been pretending to be my friend this whole time?"

Chloe felt tears start to form as she tried to process the concept of Beca not even liking her as a friend. Beca on the other hand quickly realised that Chloe was completely misunderstanding what she was trying to tell her, so opted to show her instead as words clearly weren't helping.

"I like you Chlo." Beca took Chloe's hands in hers and pulled the startled redhead towards her in one surprisingly coordinated movement, trying to convey her feelings once more. Beca's lips softly came into contact with Chloe's and she felt overwhelmed with joy. This was the moment that she had been dreaming about for months, and yet, something that Beca hadn't been able to bring herself to consider was happening. Beca had been kissing Chloe for a few seconds and it still wasn't being reciprocated, she could feel the redhead's entire body was tensed up and she was shaking a little. Beca's heart shattered. She stepped back, dropped Chloe's hands and ran from the room.

Chloe couldn't quite believe what had happened. She was still processing the fact that the girl she had fallen for actually felt the same way. It wasn't until a few moments later that Chloe realised that she hadn't responded; she had been too full of joy and shock to actually kiss Beca back. No doubt Beca now felt like Chloe didn't share her feelings and was probably unsure where that left their friendship. She darted back into Stacie's living room, expecting to see Beca there, so that she could quickly sort the misunderstanding out before things escalated.

"Hey guys, where's Beca?"

"She's gone, gingah."

"What did you do to her?"

"She looked like you broke her favourite headphones."

"You need to find her."

"She isn't okay Chloe."

The other Bellas spoke at once, telling Chloe all that she needed to know. She had let her bestfriend down and needed to fix things between them immediately. Without a word Chloe left the apartment and headed for Beca's. Within minutes she was at the other girl's door knocking loudly.

"Beca? Beca open up it's me. We need to talk. Please." Chloe repeatedly yelled through the door until she realised that Beca was either ignoring her or wasn't there. Either way she wasn't going to leave until they had spoken again. She sat down in front of the door and waited, Beca would eventually leave or return, either way she would have to face Chloe as she was literally blocking her path.

Unbeknownst to Chloe, Beca had left Stacie's headed to her apartment to change and headed on a run. She needed to clear her head and stop herself from doing something incredibly self destructive, so quite literally running away from her problems seemed like the best solution. Beca ran for hours, images of Chloe's face refusing to leave her. Beca just couldn't get over the fact that in a few short minutes she had lost the one person she held dear. Chloe had been completely unresponsive, and somehow that was worst than if she had reacted angrily. Beca could feel her defences going up, she knew that Chloe's rejection would change her for the worse. She was regressing back to her freshman self, and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Eventually Beca became so dehydrated that she stopped crying, and was unable to run anymore. She had been subconsciously running laps around campus, and was currently as far away from her apartment as it was possible to be while still on campus. Beca signed with frustration, walking back to her apartment at a leisurely pace, simply because her exhausted legs refused to cooperate at a faster pace. It was mid morning by the time Beca returned, she opened the door and stumbled straight into the shower. Despite the heartbreak, Beca was incredibly tense and she knew there was only way to get any sort of release. She put Titanium on a loop, grabbed her trusty vibrator (thank god she opted for the waterproof model) and set her mind to the task at hand. Round after round of tension was released as she thought back to how Chloe's lips felt against her own, and how the rest of her body would feel under her. An hour flew by, and Beca eventually left the shower feeling relaxed, or at least as relaxed as she could be given her current predicament. She threw on some shorts and an oversized t-shirt and collapsed onto her bed. Without any warning Beca's whole body started to shake and she starting sobbing uncontrollably. She had never cried like this, not even when her parents divorced. Beca wept for hours, the wailing coming from her mouth sounding completely heartbroken, even to her own ears. Eventually Beca ran out of energy and fell asleep, but even then she was not at peace. Chloe haunted her dreams in the most cruel way, many scenarios were played out, in each one the pair were together, before Chloe rejected Beca. In a particularly unbearable dream Beca and Chloe were kissing in Chloe's bed, completely overtaken by lust and love. Beca was completely naked, and in the process of stripping Chloe. Just when Beca was about to enter her Chloe laughed and pulled away.

"I only want to experiment with you Beca. You didn't think I actually wanted to have sex with you did you? Eww. That's what lesbians do." Beca felt herself start to cry and couldn't leave the room fast enough.

She woke with a start, feeling her pillow soaked with fresh tears. Beca jolted upright and reached for her phone. She was shocked at what she saw, it was midday and she had been unconscious for two days. Beca saw that all forms of her social media had gone crazy while she was sleeping, and was anxious to distract herself with that. She started with her texts, all from the Bellas who were clearly very concerned.

What happened with Chloe?

Did Chloe find you?

I know a guy who can make Chloe disappear if that would help

Where did you go?

Are you okay?

We're here for you whenever you're ready to talk

I'm so sorry Beca

Where are you?

Chloe's looking for you

Do you want to talk about it?

We could go drinking together?

Seriously what's happened to you

This isn't healthy

Are you alive?

Rebecca Mitchell get your head out of your arse, it is not a hat, and Chloe needs you to talk to her

Beca chuckled at the message from Aubrey, although she couldn't help feeling disgruntled that Aubrey assumed that Beca was in the wrong, when she had been the one who cried herself to sleep. She decided to reply quickly and move on to her other apps and see what she had missed.

Guys I'm fine, I was just sleeping. No I don't want to talk about it

Beca muted the chat so that she could ignore the Bellas for a little while longer. She decided to be a little more honest with Aubrey, for God knows what reason, as she couldn't bring herself to lie to her former captain.

Aubrey Chloe broke me and I don't think I will truly recover for a very long time. I've lost the one person I need the most. Chloe clearly doesn't need me, she wants nothing to do with me and I don't know how to come to terms with that

Aubrey's response was almost instant, and the two went back and forth for a while, a conversation which left Beca feeling even more confused than before.

Beca what are you talking about

I told Chloe that I liked her and I kissed her. She didn't reciprocate and just stared back at me so I ran. I haven't seen or heard from her since

That doesn't sound right, Chloe called me sounding hysterical, saying something about you leaving her

I left her in Stacie's room because I couldn't face her anymore. She doesn't feel the same way I do, that's all I need to know

Beca she does

Nope

I swear on my Dad's life, that girl has had a big ol' toner for you since day one

Again, nope

It really isn't my place to say this, but the next time you talk to Chloe ask her why she left Barden at the end of last year

Beca didn't know what to make of Aubrey's claims as they weren't making any sense. Chloe had had plenty of time to tell Beca that she was interested in her, and she hadn't. Beca was too stubborn to see that things had been far more complicated than that. She scrolled down her texts to see several from the one girl she didn't want to be thinking about at this moment in time.

Becs where are you? I'm outside your door waiting for you

I'll be here until you're ready, but we really need to talk about this

You left before I had the chance to say anything

Becs please

I need you here

Where are you?

It's been hours

I'm going back to Stacie's to shower but I'm not dropping this

I'm outside yours again

Please let me in

I know you can't still be out

You know I could set Lilly on you

Okay sorry I'll stop with the jokes now

But for serious, please talk to me

Beca it's been two days and I'm flying back later today

I really don't want to leave Barden with you not talking to me

Okay well I'm on the plane now and about to change back to my other number. Just know that I love you and I can't imagine my life without you. Please talk to me

As Chloe sat on the plane, she felt like a cruel role reversal had taken place since the last time she had left the US. This time Beca was the one ignoring Beca, and she didn't know how she could fix it. She had spent the better part of two days outside of Beca's door waiting for the girl she cared so deeply for to finally let her explain. Part of Chloe was tempted just to tell her about her feelings over text, but she knew deep down that she wanted to be looking Beca straight in the eye when she tells her that she loves her. So she waited, and waited, until finally she had to go to the airport.

Chloe hoped that maybe by the time she returned to Barden in the fall Beca would be willing to listen to her and let get back to their usual selves. Chloe knew that she had fallen for Beca a long time ago, she had never imagined that Beca would feel the same way, or that her declaration of her feelings would lead to the pair not talking. Chloe couldn't help but feel frustrated with Beca, the girl just hadn't let her process such mindblowing news. If Beca had simply waited a minute Chloe would have thrown herself into her arms and they could finally make some progress towards being together. Chloe sighed sadly to herself, willing away the rest of the year so that she could see Beca again and tell her how she felt.

While Chloe was in the air Beca was reading through all of the texts from Chloe. She started sobbing once more, and tried to decipher what they meant. Chloe definitely felt bad, which meant that maybe she didn't hate Beca. Although the girl was so lovely she was nicer to the few people she hated than those that Beca actually liked. Beca wanted more than anything to see Chloe again, just to hug her and feel safe again. But she knew that as Chloe didn't love her back that seeing her again would be a bad idea. Beca's emotions were still completely raw, and she knew that they would be for a long time. So she did what she did best, Beca shut Chloe out. She figured that letting the relationship fall apart would be less painful than coming to terms with a rejection that was shaking her to her core. It wasn't an arrogance thing, Beca just felt so hurt that Chloe didn't love her romantically, as she had never had to deal with rejection before. So she dealt out a little rejection of her own.

Chlo you broke me, the last thing I want to do is talk to you. Please just leave me alone

Beca tried to phrase the message as gently as possible, but ultimately she was telling Chloe to get lost, and there was nothing gentle about that. She knew that she was being a little cruel but just couldn't bring herself to give Chloe the chance to explain herself, as that would mean reliving that godawful night.

The next few weeks flew by in a blur, with Beca only leaving her room or the station for classes and Bellas rehearsals. The girls had initially waited patiently for Beca to tell them what was going on with her, as she had been ignoring all of them for absolutely no reason, and refusing to use more than one sentence in response to anyone. But this was getting ridiculous. Beca was sullen and silent whenever possible, her eyes had developed an intensity that was almost frightening. They were now almost always slightly wet looking, and whenever she made eye contact it felt like she was staring right into that person's soul. Stacie decided to interfere by physically dragging Beca to her apartment, neglecting to tell her that it was a Bellas bonding night.

"Beca. Enough is enough. Tonight you're getting drunk and we are going to talk about it. You know exactly what I'm referring to." Beca rolled her eyes but stayed silent as Stacie opened the door.

"Big Shawshank. Wassup."

"Hey Ames, guys."

"I missed you shortstack, we all did." Amy bounded over to Beca and crushed the reluctant sophomore into a tight hug. The other Bellas leapt at the chance for a group hug, all revelling in their leaders discomfort. Eventually they released Beca and the games began.

A few hours later Beca woke up face down in an unfamiliar bed, her head pounding. She had no memory of the bonding night after she started drinking, while was almost as soon as she sat down. Trust Amy's mysterious concoctions to get her blackout drunk, although she had certainly needed to let her hair down. Beca's brain slowly started to function a little better, enough for her to realise that she was completely naked. She sat bold upright and looked around the room and seeing that she wasn't in fact alone. Her bed companion was fast asleep, a few distinguishable features giving away who it was in a matter of seconds. Beca felt nothing but guilt as she processed what she must have done last night.

"Shit."