Jesse tried to put what he came to realize earlier in the evening in the back of his mind and enjoy what was left of the night and failed horribly. Like, it was the only thing on his mind. His super tiny feelings towards the one and only Beca Mitchell. He blamed his sister for a while for putting it in his head in the first place but soon admitted to himself that she just pointed out what she saw; his not very platonic protectiveness of Beca.

It sucked that they were going to end their relationship because he really liked having as a friend who he regularly boned and knew that the minute he told her the reason behind ending their relationship she was going to stop talking to him, he just knew judging by how she reacted when he looked out for her at the nightclub.

"There you are. What are you doing out here, weirdo?" he asked, finding Beca outside by herself.

"Nothing," she replied.

He made his way to where she was standing on the porch and let out a breath as he lifted his head to look at the sky. "Wow, stars are bright tonight," he noted in awe.

"Huh?" she looked up from her phone and at the sky.

"Look, there's the great bear over there." He pointed at the stars that formed the said bear. "And there's Hercules there."

"All I'm seeing is a bunch of white dots, bright white dots."

"Dad would get a heart attack if he heard you say that," he chuckled. "He's so passionate about astrology," he recounted, tearing his eyes away from the sky to look at her. "And tried to get us into it so hard growing up…" he sighed.

"On a scale of one to your thing for movies, how passionate?"

"My thing for movies time ten."

"Got it." She nodded then glanced at her phone.

He tried to peek and saw several unanswered texts. "Who are you ghosting, Mitchell? Who's Eliza?"

She immediately hid the screen from him by pressing her phone against her chest.

"You never mentioned an Eliza before, are you in some sort of trouble, do I have to worry?"

"I'm not in trouble," she told him and stuffed her phone into her pocket.

"Thanks again for the present, Becs," he said breaking the silence they got in afterward.

He loved her both practical and sentimental present; shower curtains.

He had procrastinated buying shower curtains ever since he moved into his studio apartment and had to mope the floor every time he showered.

The sentimentality laid in what was printed on the fabric of the shower curtains: in the form of a panel drawings from the star wars universe: rebels spaceships attacking the death star, Yoda holding a lightsaber, Chewbacca, 3cpo, R2d2, Darth Vader, a couple of stormtroopers, the millennial falcon, and Boba Fett.

"You're welcome, again," she said in response then tilted her head to look at the door hearing someone walk out.

"We're taking the party to the beach," Sarah informed the two as she walked out of the house.

"First one to get there wins a five hundred bucks target gift card," Adam hollered as he ran past his sister.

"Wait up you fucking cheat, there's a fucking countdown," Sarah said, running after him.

"Countdowns are for losers." They could Adam reply as they watched most of the party attendees run out of the house in the direction of the beach, participating.

"What just happened?" Beca said in confusion once it was just her, Jesse, and Chloe on the porch.

"That, my friend, is Swanson competitively," Jesse said with a sigh.

"Why didn't you join in if it's a Swanson thing?" Beca wondered.

"Adam's already won that's why," he answered. "I only compete when I'm a hundred percent sure that I'm going to win," he explained.

"Wanna bet on that?" Chloe chimed in.

"On what?" Jesse wondered.

"On who will win the gift card. My guess is Sarah."

"Is there something I don't know? Is Adam hurt or something?" he wanted to know.

"He's fine, I just think Sarah is gonna win." Chloe shrugged. "Who do you think would win?" she asked Beca.

"Sarah, she seems like the kind of person that complains when people cheat but plays dirty to win," Beca said after giving it some thought.

"Sarah really is like that," Jesse said in amusement, thinking of all the times they played monopoly.

"You barely got to hang out with Sarah and you got her figured out," Chloe noted both impressed and surprised. "You must be an excellent judge of character."

By the time the trio made it to the beach, most people were in the sea.

"Don't even think about it, Swanson," Beca said before Jesse could speak, the look he gave her was enough.

"Already have." He grinned when she made a run for it and ran after her, hearing Chloe holler encouraging words.

It was his birthday and he was barely enjoying any of it, he had to catch up.

Beca let out a squeal when he caught her that caused him to laugh.

"Jesse, no, I don't want to get into the water. It's cold. I don't wanna get all wet," she was whining and he found it hilarious. "Please, Jesse, I don't wanna get all wet." She stopped trying to fight him, realizing how pointless it was. He threw her over his shoulder and headed towards the beach.

"Ow!" he exclaimed when she kicked him really hard, her kick landing in a dangerous area. "What the hell is wrong with you?" He let her down.

"You were gonna make me swim." She was walking backward away from him.

"So you kick me in the balls?" He was in pain but she didn't really hit him where he said she did—it was a close one, though.

"I was aiming for your leg," she told him.

"I was trying to create a memory with you, a really fun one, and your response is to make me sterile?"

"You're being dramatic. It wasn't that hard of a kick." She quickened her pace when he started limping towards her and fell.

He sighed, approaching her with the intention of helping her get up. She clearly thought he had other intentions because she tried to kick him in the shin once he was close enough and she was still on the sand.

He managed to dodge her and then get a hold of her once she was on her feet.

"A formal apology and you're off the hook." He held her to make sure she couldn't hurt him. He couldn't help but grin when she looked up and had an adorable annoyed look on her face.

She huffed and stopped fighting his grip. But he wasn't an idiot, he wasn't going to loosen his hold.

"How about a favor," she mumbled in her awkward yet somehow sexy low voice, changing her tactic.

'Clever,' he thought to himself, clearing his throat when he felt her move in a rather distracting manner against his junk. "Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me… aren't you?" He was not surprised that she didn't get the reference and made a mental note to make her watch the graduate.

"Just apologize for attempting to keep me from ever having children and I'll leave you alone… for now." He tried to keep her still and pressed her more firmly against himself which he realized wasn't a good call.

"I don't like the 'for now' part," she mumbled and pressed herself even more.

He bit back a groan when she moved again, making a weird growl sound instead. He composed himself before he spoke again. "Then you leave me no other choice." He picked her up.

"Fine, fine, fine, fine," she was quick to say and he carefully put her down while still maintaining a tight grip on her. "God, you're no fun," she deadpanned.

"Any minute now that apology would be great," he sighed dramatically.

"Please, accept my sincere apology for the kick I gave you."

"Keep going," he encouraged when she went quiet.

"It was wrong of me to defend myself by impulsively kicking you and I am truly sorry. I understand how hurt you are you are given the possible consequences of my actions," she grumbled. "And I humbly ask for your forgiveness." She was glaring at him as she spoke which made it hard to keep a straight face.

"That wasn't so bad," he snorted. "I accept your apology but I'm not sure if it would be in my best interest if I let you go now. You look like you could kill me."

"I won't. Don't be stupid. I can't commit a murder when there are witnesses."

He looked around and could see that someone started a bonfire that people were gathering around. "Fair point."

He let go of Beca but kept his guard up in case she attempted to do anything.

She didn't.

"This is a great trust-building exercise," Jesse realized. "I'm not trying to protect my package from you despite the odds of you kneeing me in the balls." He could see her roll her eyes in the dimness at what was coming out his mouth which made him grin. "Huge step friendship wise, Becs."

"Or it could be just me not wanting to damage the only reason we hang out." She shrugged.

He faked a gasp, pretending to take offense. "I refuse to believe that my dick is THE reason why we hang out. Sex is more than just dick in vagina. Sex is a lot of funsies, dick in vagina included, Beca," he reminded and smiled when she let out a small laugh at his use of the word funsies.

She had a nice laugh. Nice enough he felt those damn butterflies in the pit of his stomach.

Stupid feelings getting in the way of things.

He wasn't in a place where he could gloss over feelings and maintain a friendship once they ended up the beneficial part of their friendship and he knew it yet he still wanted to be friends with her. They got along really well and it was just great to have her as a friend. She's a complicated weirdo who he had a soft spot for.

The mature thing was to cut all ropes and despite not wanting to be a responsible adult he was going to do the right thing and back off.

Hearing a shriek, the two tilted their heads to see Sarah get thrown in the water by none other than Adam.

"Is he trying to drown her?" Beca asked in puzzlement, failing to see the fun in what the siblings were doing.

"Yeah," Jesse answered with a shrug.

Hearing Sarah yelp Jesse's name, Beca could swear he perked up like a freaking puppy hearing owner call them for a walk.

"Um, can I leave my stuff with you?" he asked and began to undress when Beca nodded.

"Make good choices," she called after him as he ran towards the beach wearing nothing but his boxer shorts.

She watched Jesse go to his sister's rescue and shook her head before she locked eyes Chloe who gestured for her to join her near the bonfire.

"Sarah won the gift card," Chloe informed. "She cheated and won."

"Is that why Adam tried to drown her just now?" Beca asked as she took a seat near the redhead who chuckled, "No. That's just Adam upholding tradition."

Beca was going to ask for details about the tradition Chloe brought but the redhead spoke before she could. "So," she sighed happily, eyeing the brunette. "How long have you and Jesse known each other?"

Beca busied herself by folding Jesse's clothes to avoid Chloe's gaze, finding it quite intimidating. "A few months."

"How did you guys meet?" Chloe then asked.

"My car broke down and he happened to be jogging by. He offered to help, figured out what's wrong, and fixed it."

"I met Jesse in a similar way, sort of," Chloe told her, grimacing. "Except, I was drunk at a party and he helped me sober up because I so was out of it then made sure I got safely to my dorm room."

Dorm. So they've known each other since college, Beca assumed.

"I actually asked him out next time we met at a party and got rejected pretty hard," she chuckled and Beca didn't hide her surprise.

"He was seeing Hollie back then," Beca figured because no sane man would say no to Chloe unless they were gay or in a relationship.

"Yeah." Chloe frowned. "Jesse told you about Hollie?"

Beca nodded in response.

"Huh." Chloe glanced at the shore to check on the siblings and smiled seeing that they were enjoying themselves. "I never liked her. And, it's not because I had feelings for Jesse and was jealous or something. I mean he's cute but I stopped thinking about him once I knew he was unavailable," she explained. "She used him a lot. Used the fact that he had a big heart a lot," she continued.

Beca found herself nodding again, wondering why Chloe would share her opinion of Hollie with her of all people. They barely knew each other, shouldn't they be talking about where they were from and their taste in music?

Sighing, Chloe said, "Enough about her, tell me about yourself." She smiled warmly at Beca.

"I'm from Michigan," Beca stated.

"Northern."

"Yep, basically Canadian, eh," Beca joked to which Chloe chuckled.

"Well, how do you like the weather in Georgia, how are you handling the heat?"

"I spent several summers in Australia, I know heat."

"Australia? We've been talking about going on holidays and Adam really wants us to go to Australia. Are there places you could recommend if we end up picking Australia as our destination?"

"Sure," Beca instantly said. "I know my way around Melbourne particularly but I'm familiar with Sydney, too."

"Why don't you give me your cell phone number and I'll let you know if we decided on Australia?" Beca nodded and took the redhead's phone to type down her phone number then called herself.

"You have family there?" Chloe wondered.

"Yeah," Beca replied curtly as she saved her number on the redhead's phone.

The drive back to Barden was quiet. Jesse had to stop for caffeine because he was starting to doze off while behind the wheel. Beca offered to drive and that's why he was going through the playlist she put together for the road, looking for a mashup he heard on the way to Jacksonville.

"Someone is calling you," he informed the brunette driving his car, noticing that her phone was vibrating.

She merely glanced at it before deciding to ignore it. He peeked. The name that was on the screen was Eliza, probably the one she was also ignoring her texts the night before. He was curious but not enough to ask.

Leaning against his seat, he decided to look out of the window and work on how he was going to approach the "break up". They were in a way breaking up, they were breaking up their arrangement.

He was going to be direct and honest.

He figured in a few days he'd make plans with her to grab lunch or coffee and tell her that he wanted to end things.

Should go well.

He was debating whether or not he should let her know why he was ending it then reminded himself that he was going to be direct and honest and letting her know the truth was mandatory.

He didn't even know why he was thinking too much about it.

Yeah, he liked her. He wasn't going to deny it to himself. But there was nothing there. And, it wasn't even about their arrangement itself. She was 19 and the last thing she needed was to get involved romantically with 30-year-old who had his own set of issues to work through.

"Jesse?"

"Yes?" he replied, tilting his head to look at her.

"I asked if you want to eat, I saw a sign, there's a restaurant in a few miles." He didn't realize he was so deep in his thoughts that he didn't even hear her.

"Yeah, I could eat," he answered.

"Cool."

He smiled, eyeing her, she was cute when she was all focused, then looked down at her phone when it vibrated again.

"Beca, Nana is calling," he told her, reading the caller's ID. She pulled her earphones from her pocket and tossed them his way. "Plug 'em, please."

He grabbed her phone and did what she asked him to do then watched her wear an earphone and pick up.

"Hey," she greeted, her voice warm and welcoming. There was a small pause before she rolled her eyes. "Yes, I've been eating greens now and then."

Jesse snorted at what she said and leaned forward to lower the volume so Beca could hear her grandmother better. For the next maybe thirty seconds, Beca's replies were "uh huhs" and "yeahs" and "okays" and the tone of her voice went from genuinely happy to be on the phone with her grandmother to annoyed but still polite.

"Everything alright there?" he felt the need to ask Beca who was violently stabbing her salad.

"Yeah," she replied.

He didn't believe her and the look he gave her was enough to let her know he didn't. She rolled her eyes in response. "It's just my parents," she mumbled, putting the fork down and sucking her teeth. "I can't believe they brought nana into it."

"What is it exactly?"

"I suppose you can call it 'family drama'," she sighed, using air quotation.

"Wanna talk about it?" he carefully said, offering to listen.

She ran a hand through her hair, thinking. "My mother and I aren't exactly close. Like, we barely ever talk these days. And, I'm fine with it. It doesn't bother me." She shrugged, grabbing the fork to play with the salad in front of her. "Right before winter break she invited me to spend break with her and I said no 'cause I was spending break with nana. She got weird after that."

"How?" he asked when she went quiet.

"Like, she calls for no particular reason and texts when I don't pick up. I'm sure that's normal for regular parents, parents who are involved in their kids' lives." He nodded. "But not for kids whose parents forget to call them on their birthday," she bitterly continued. "The whole reconnecting thing seemed fishy to me so I asked her what she wanted so we could go back to how things were. She got mad at me."

"Is that why your grandmother called?" He picked up his glass of water and brought it to his lips.

She shook her head. "Apparently, she worked things out with her dad and it made her see how much of a shitty parent she is— never met the guy. Pretty sure he left her and her mother when she was really young— she really wants me to meet the guy," she informed.

"When I told her I can't just drop things here and go meet him. She blew it out of proportion and got mad at me because 'I'm not even trying to rebuild our relationship.' Told her there wasn't even a relationship in the first place. We fought. Big time. She called dad. He tried to lecture me we ended up having an even bigger fight. Haven't talked to either one of them since."

"They called your grandmother to talk you," he figured.

"Yeah," she answered. "He reached out to Nana because he knew I wouldn't ignore her if she called."

"What are you going to do now?" he wondered.

She inhaled deeply and let the breath out slowly.

"You're not gonna keep on ignoring them, are you?"

"I have no interest in talking to them."

"Beca, they might be bad parents but they're still your parents. You can't just cut them out of your life. Yes, they treated you like shit for most of your life but your mother is trying to fix things, isn't she?" He paused and watched her nod curtly. "Give her a shot."

"It's not easy to just let her come into my life and act like she's been there the whole time."

"Then let her know that… without fighting. Talk things through with both of your parents."

She scoffed and said nothing in response.

"Is she the one you've been ghosting?" he asked, recalling the unanswered texts he saw on her phone from an Eliza.

She brought a forkful of salad to her mouth and nodded.

Boy, was he tired. Monday was his least favorite day of the week and the fact that he barely had any sleep over the weekend made going through the day even harder.

He hopped on the couch, unbuttoning his shirt and kick off his shoes, and closed his eyes briefly before he got up, when his beloved kitten Thororeo meowed, to feed his pet.

He ordered dinner and went under the shower, figuring it would help him relax because he made the error of drinking one too many cups of coffee during the day and knew how very likely he was to toss and turn throughout the night.

And, he was a hundred percent right. He couldn't fall asleep and was strongly considering giving up coffee altogether.

He got out of bed to snack and decided while in the kitchen to watch a movie. So, he fixed himself a sandwich and got himself comfortable on the couch to see what was up on Netflix.

Not even ten minutes into the movie, his phone rang.

"Beca?" he said, picking up. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"No. Would I be calling you this late if everything was okay," she replied, her words slightly slurred.

"Why are you whispering?" He paused the movie. "Beca?"

"Sorry," she said. "It's just hitting me really hard."

"What's hitting you really hard—where are you?"

"I'm not sure, but Google maps has my back, I guess," she answered. "I left The Garage with a dude. He has some fucked up kinks and wouldn't take no for an answer."

"Did he hurt you?"

"No, no, not exactly. I excused myself to use the bathroom and locked myself up. I'm wondering if you could come pick me up? I would have called nine-one-one but I've taken E and I have been drinking sooo, yeah, can you come get me, please?" He understood then what she meant when she said that 'it' was hitting her really hard; Ecstasy.

He let out the breath he was holding. "Text me the address."

What was she thinking? Taking drugs and hooking up with a random guy? He was both angry at her and worried sick about her.

Stepping out of the car, he was ready to punch someone.

He knocked and clenched his fist. When no one came to the door, he knocked again. His heart sank as a very unpleasant thought crossed his mind. He reached into his pocket, pulled his phone and called Beca.

"Please tell me you're almost here," she said the moment she picked up.

Relieved, he spoke, "Yes, I'm at the door. I knocked and no one answered."

"Weird." She went quiet then and he heard what sounded like unlocking a door. "Beca, talk to me," he urged when he heard nothing from her in a few seconds that surely felt like longer.

"He fell asleep," she answered with a sigh.

"Well, get your stuff and get out of there!" he said, trying and failing to keep his calm.

"I'm coming, don't yell at me," she whispered, annoyed with his tone.

"Sorry." He rubbed his temples, not sure if she heard it because she hung up on him.

She came out of the house shortly after that. It took him half a second to notice the cut on her bottom lip. He cupped her face to make sure he wasn't mistaken.

"Did he hurt you anywhere else?" he asked, dropping his hand and clenching it.

"He didn't hurt me. He asked before he could do this." She pointed at her lip. "It got weird after that… Can we just leave?" She rubbed her forehead, he assumed she was finally coming down the drug she took.

He nodded and took her hand, noticing that she was having trouble walking.

"Thanks for showing up," she grumbled. He made a sound of acknowledgment in response, keeping his mouth shut because he was pretty angry at her and knew how likely she'd take it the wrong way if he said anything criticizing her reckless behavior.

She fell asleep in the car so he decided to take her back to his place instead of dropping her at campus.

"Morning." He heard her say as she stepped into the kitchen where he was leaning against the counter waiting for coffee to brew while reading the news on the New York Times app.

"Good morning," he said, looking up from his cellphone. She looked…in pain. "How are you holding up?" he asked, placing his phone on the counter.

"I've had better days," she answered.

"I went and got you what you need to re-up your neurotransmitters supplies." He nodded at the drugstore bag.

"Thanks," she said, grabbing the bag and pulling the content. "Um, how much do I take?"

He sighed, getting from the way she was carefully reading the labels that it wasn't familiar any of them.

"Depends on how much Ecstasy you took," he replied.

"Just one pill."

"One from each should do," he told her. "Drink a lot of fluids throughout the day… no liquor, though."

He grabbed a mug once the coffee was done brewing and moved aside when Beca reached to grab a glass which she filled with tap water to take the pills he got for her.

"Sorry for waking you up in the middle of the night," she apologized as Jesse pulled a pitcher from the fridge and filled a glass of orange juice.

"You didn't wake me up. I was up watching a movie." He held the glass in her direction. "It's fresh, I just didn't know where you'd wake up." His eyes fell on her now swollen lip, he looked up when she touched the cut.

"I haven't looked in the mirror, is it bad?"

He took too long before he shook his head.

"I'll take that as a yes." She took a sip of juice while she rubbed her temples.

"You said he had your consent or else I would have made sure his whole face got swollen," he mumbled before he took a sip of coffee.

"I didn't think he's gonna try to bite my lip off," she spoke in annoyance.

"You mentioned that he has fucked up kinks, what did he want to do?" He was a little amused with her annoyance.

"He gets off from inflicting pain. When he told me I figured why not…"

"Were you already tripping when you made that decision?" he tried to keep his tone light as he spoke because he wasn't going to judge her. Yes, he thought she was being reckless but he wasn't going to lecture her, he was once nineteen too.

"Yeah, well, lesson learned. Don't agree to try out new things with complete strangers while you're on drugs."

"Glad to hear that." He looked at the time on his watch, he still had some time to spear before hitting the road. "So, does any of this have anything to do with your parents?" he carefully asked. She was clearly acting out, he didn't have to be a specialist to recognize this type of behavior and the reason behind it.

"I get it, you went out to clear your mind because your 'family drama' is all you've been thinking of and it's frustrating. Things just happened to escalate."

"She's in town, Jesse," she mumbled, running a finger around the edge of the glass. "My parents showed up at my dorm yesterday."

"You guys fought again?"

"No," she put the glass of orange juice. "I wasn't there when they came. Kimmy Jin told me that my parents came looking for me."

"Ignoring them isn't really working, huh?" He drummed his fingers on the mug of coffee he was holding. "Seems to me that confronting them is your best option, Becs." He took one final sip of coffee and went to wash it.

Glancing at her, he saw her rub her temples. "You're very welcome to hide out here for as long as you want but I really think you should talk to your parents. Or at least let them know you're okay and aren't in trouble."

She nodded at his words while she fixated on the floor.

"While you're here feed Thoroero, would you?" He grabbed his blazer and wore it.

"Yeah, sure." She ran a hand through her hair.

She didn't take his advice and he wasn't surprised. He could very much invite her parents over to his place and force her into talking to them but that wasn't right. It would only make things worse. He wanted her to realize on her own that what she was doing was wrong and make the right calls.

He believed in her to make the right decision.

It took her a week however before she started leaning towards the idea of confronting her parents and he couldn't be more thrilled because he was seriously running out of excuses to avoid having sex with her.

He couldn't tell her why he was avoiding sleeping with her because she needed a friend—if she knew he had feelings for her, odds were she'd give him the same treatment she was giving her parents.

"Well, you can ask them to come over here," he suggested when she told him she didn't want to meet them at her father's house because the last thing she wanted was Sheila witnessing the inevitable fight nor did she want to meet them in a public place.

"I don't mind." He actually wanted to be around to play the role of the peacekeeper.

"No, I couldn't ask that from you." She shook her head. "You've done enough for me already."

"Oh, you mean letting you stay over?" He picked up the plates they dined in and put them in the sink. "You're awesome to live with." He had someone to talk to about his day and eat dinner with, it sounded pathetic even in his head so he kept it to himself.

"Just arrange something with your parents and let me know." He tilted his head to look at her as she got rid of the beer cans they had with their dinner.

"Okay," she replied.

"Did you go see the Bellas?" he wondered, recalling that she received a text from a Barden Bella telling her that they were back in competition.

"Yep." She leaned against the counter.

"And, how did things go?" When they talked about it, she admitted that she liked the girls and wanted back on the team.

"I apologized and asked if they could let me back on the team. They surprisingly took me back," she informed. "They're even going to let me arrange the set for the finals."

"That's awesome, Beca." He grinned, guessing that working things through with the Bellas was why she wasn't so against talking to her parents.

"Hey, weirdo?" He heard her call and as he dried his hands after washing the plates. "Is everything okay?"

"M'yeah." He shrugged.

"I'm sorry, it's just that whenever I ask if we could have sex you say no. I read online that depression lowers sex drive, should I worry about you?"

"While my mental health isn't at its best, no, I'm not depressed," he told her. "I'm just stressed out," he wasn't lying but it wasn't exactly why he wasn't boning her. "Work is stressful." He ran his fingers through his hair.

"Wanna talk about it?" She followed him to the living area.

He picked up Thororeo and sat down on the couch while petting the animal. "I might be up for a promotion in the near future."

"Well, that's great, right?" She sat next to him.

"It should be." He paused. "My career is very safe and I'm making money—"

"—but you don't like it."

He nodded. "I sometimes think about quitting but then if I do quit I would lose financial stability."

"And be happy," she finished for him.

"Happy but broke," he corrected. "I talked about this with my therapist. She suggested I find a hobby. Been thinking about offering free music lessons to kids whose parents have low income and can't afford it."

"That seems like fun," she said, sounding very genuine which was very unlike her.

He looked down at her hand when she placed it on his thigh. He could feel the sexual tension between them rise when she met his gaze. It was really hard not to give into the temptation but conscience wouldn't let him do it.

She withdrew her hand and welcomed Thororeo onto her lap, giving the kitten her attention, while he grabbed the remote control and started looking through TV channels.

"Do you wanna stop the whole thing?" He heard her ask and tilted his head.

Noting his confusion, she said, "Our thing, do you want to call it off?" She scratched the kitten's chin, waiting for him to answer. "You seem so uncomfortable right now and I hate to think that it's because of me. Dude, you're not my boyfriend, don't feel weird about not wanting me," she continued when he just stared at her. "I won't take it personally."

All he had to do was say yes and maybe nod his head. Why it was taking him forever to do that was beyond him.

"It's not you, Beca." 'That wasn't yes. Just say yes, moron,' he thought to himself. "I think you're very attractive." He frowned when she let out a small chuckle.

"You sound like you're breaking up with me," she explained the reason she found what he was saying funny. "Dude, it's really okay. This whole experience has been great but everything ends." She let the cat hop off her lap and watched it walk away before she tilted her head to look at him.

He nodded his head, thinking if he should come clean and deciding she didn't have to know. "It really has been great," he finally said, mustarding a smile.

"Just focus on yourself and be happy."

He could feel her initial surprise when he enveloped her in a hug because she tensed up briefly before hugging him back. "Thanks, Becs," he mumbled, placing a kiss on her head.

Jesse had spent a week wondering how he was going to tell her that they had to end their thing and finally ending it on a such a good note felt strange. She made it easy but at the same time difficult because he was ready to lose her once he let her know he felt. He didn't know if he could move past the feelings he had for her and maintain a friendship with her. Well, deep down he knew that, right now, it was unlikely he could which meant he was going to pull a Beca Michell on Beca Mitchell.

'Oh, the irony,' he thought as he broke the hug.

AN: Welp, here's this. Let me know what you think of the turn the story took.

Happy new year, peeps!