AN: Hello, person reading this. I haven't dropped this story or any of the incomplete stuff I have on here, I just lose the will to live all together let alone write sometimes but let's not get into that. I hope you're doing well. I also hope you enjoy this chapter.

When she heard a knock on the door, she groaned, "Go away!"

"I'll come over later," Benji mumbled. "Text me when you're feeling better and are in the mood for learning." He scratched his head while looking at the notes he was holding in his hand. "I got you tacos… if you feel like eating them." Tacos were the only thing she'd eat when she's hungover and not feel nauseated.

"No, Benji." She pushed herself up, just enough her head was no longer under the covers. "Stay," she said, struggling to keep her eyes open. "I thought you were Amy. She's been trying to talk me into drinking some weird cocktail she made and claims is a cure for hangovers." She sat up and tried to calm her hair down.

"Here you go." He held the bag her way.

"Thank you." She accepted and watched him pull her desk chair and take a seat. "Tell me about your date," she mumbled, biting into the taco.

"It went really well," he beamed.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, Janice is super cool and funny."

"That's awesome. Did you ask her out on a second date?" From the change in his expression, she knew the answer. "It's okay, Benji. You can ask her later."

"Okay, good," he said in relief. "So, did you end up going out last night?"

She closed her eyes momentarily before she answered. "Nope."

"What?" Benji questioned, frowning as he eyed his friend when she stopped chewing and zoned out.

"What what?" she said, snapping out of her thoughts.

"You zoned out," he pointed out.

Beca leaned against the headboard and took a deep breath after swallowing what was left of the taco. "Pete came over last night," she began to say.

"You hooked up with Pete," Benji figured not hiding his surprise.

"Worse." She paused, tilting her head to look at him. "I threw up on him while making out." The thought of vomit made her want to vomit, she wasn't sure she wanted to eat the second taco Benji bought for her.

"That's unfortunate but it's not so bad," Benji pointed out.

The embarrassment was too real. She slid down and pulled her duvet over her head in shame.

"Beca, I'm sure Pete is cool with it. It's not like you wanted to puke on him."

She peeked her head. "Dude, he was disgusted."

Benji felt bad for her and had no idea how to make her feel better. "So, what happened next?" He was curious.

"What do you think happened next?" she snorted. "He left." She was glad he did, the reason sucked, but she was glad they didn't end up hooking up. She knew she would have regretted it.

"What was he even doing here?"

She sighed, eyeing the ceiling. "I asked him to come over." When Benji said nothing in response, she felt super judged despite knowing that Benji wouldn't judge her, so she went ahead and tried to explain herself. "The girls were out. I had been drinking and he was available to hang out. Wasn't even planning to hook up with him. It just happened… well, almost happened."

"It's not the worst thing that could have happened, you know? Just saying, could have been worse."

"Like what? I could have puked up on him twice?" she deadpanned and he laughed. She pulled the second taco from the bag and brought it to her mouth while still laying on her back. "Hey, how did you know I'm hungover?"

"Amy told me," he let her know.

Beca nodded then reached for her phone that was right by her side feeling it vibrate. One look at the screen had her groaning.

"What?" Benji wondered, slightly worried.

"I'm having lunch with Dad and I totally forgot about it." She pushed herself into a sitting position and cleared her throat before she picked up. "Hey, dad," she greeted and pushed her duvet aside only to pull it back remembering that she wasn't wearing pants. She and Benji were pals but not the kind that would walk around each other in their underwear.

"Hey, kiddo." She heard her old man say in response.

"I know I'm running late. It's just that I forgot to set the alarm clock. I'll be there in half an hour tops, promise." It wasn't a lie but it wasn't the complete truth either.

He sighed in response. "Alright, Becs. Just drive safe."

"Yeah, see you in thirty." Hanging up, she tossed her phone aside. "So sorry, Benji," she apologized.

"It's fine. We'll study later."

"Yeah," she agreed.

Grateful a beanie was an option thanks to the cold weather, Beca wore one to avoid having to do something about her hair after she showered and used the blow dryer to dry it. She wore some clothes and rushed out of the house to go meet her father for lunch, which was something they tried to do biweekly yet she seemed to forget about it every single time.

Dr. Mitchell was on his phone when she entered the restaurant. She took off the unnecessary sunglasses she was wearing and made her way towards him—it was cloudy yet opening her eyes was a challenge.

He looked up and smiled when she pulled her chair. "Sorry, I'm late."

"It's okay," he said in response and watched her as she set her sunglasses on the table. "I actually answered some e-mails while waiting for you."

"Cool." She sat down.

"You look nice, Becs," he said, getting a good look at her.

She thought he was being sarcastic at first but realized soon enough that he was being genuine.

"Thanks." She reached for the menu and opened it. "I'm not that hungry, I think I'm gonna go with a salad," she decided. "What are you having?"

"The house special."

"Dad, you always get the special when we come here. Have you ever tried something else?" she wondered.

"I just happen like their special." He shrugged.

"Hi, are you ready to order?" the waiter asked, stopping by their table.

"Yes," Dr. Mitchell affirmed. "I'll have the house special, please."

The waiter nodded and wrote it down on his notepad before tilting her head to look at Beca.

"Just a salad for me," Beca told him.

"How are you doing, Becs?" Dr. Mitchell asked as the waiter left their table. "Midterms are coming up soon," he noted. "Are you ready for those?"

She inhaled sharply before she answered, "Yep." She was juggling a lot and was trying to squeeze in some studying because she wanted to pass the semester.

"Good. That's good. So, I've been thinking lately about how we haven't spent Christmas together in years," Dr. Mitchell said next. "And, how we should do something about that."

"I can't let Nana spend Christmas alone, Dad."

"I know that." He paused. "I thought we could all spend it over at Grandma's."

"Oh." Yep, she was surprised. "That could be nice."

"Yeah, Mom thinks so, too."

"Mom as in Nana or my actual mother?" Beca said in confusion.

Dr. Mitchell usually referred to his mother as Grandma unless he was addressing her directly.

"Your mother said she'd fly over for Christmas," he told her.

"I'm sensing a but coming," Beca noted.

He sighed, "But she's not sure she's welcome."

"That's bullshit. Of course, she's welcome." Beca found herself rolling her eyes.

"She wants to hear it from Grandma," he told her.

"Nana won't say no, you know?"

"I know." He paused. "Your mother feels bad for not showing enough gratitude towards Grandma for practically raising you and is afraid Grandma holds it against her."

'More like any gratitude,' Beca wanted to say but didn't. "I'll talk to Nana." She sighed when he gave her a pointed look. "And, mom, I guess." She was low-key excited about spending the holidays with her entire family but didn't want to get her hopes up because it was very likely to turn out super awkward.

Speaking of super awkward, Beca knew she was going to feel it the next time she saw Pete, which was going to be Monday.

Her plan was to ignore him and pretend nothing happened and hope he did the same.

Beca was right about things being awkward with Pete next time she saw him… She was wrong about it being on Monday, though.

"Pete?" she called in surprise spotting him in front of the Bellas' house blowing into his hands for warmth. 'Why didn't he just knock, the girls would have let him in?' she wondered.

"Beca, hi," he greeted, sniffling.

"What's up?" she slowly asked as she got closer to the house. The tone of her voice was super chill despite the amount of embarrassment she was feeling thanks to the flashes going through her mind from the night before.

"I-uh." He paused then let out a nervous chuckle. "Last night… I shouldn't have left like that."

"Don't worry about it. It's fine," she replied not wanting to talk about it.

"No, it's not. I left you alone. You could have had alcohol poisoning or like puked again and chocked on it…" he trailed off before he blew a breath.

She shifted her weight on her right leg in discomfort because she really didn't want to think about it let alone talk about it.

"And, I bailed instead of sticking around and making sure you're okay."

Yeah, it was shitty that he left but he had no obligation to stay.

"Dude, it's really fine." She shrugged. "I'm not holding it against you."

"Cool, cool, cool," he said while nodding his head and sniffling. "Well, you're alive!" he let out a nervous chuckle before he cleared his throat. "I'll see on Monday." He awkwardly waved at her before he began walking away.

"I appreciate you coming to check if I'm still alive," she let him know and watched him stop in his tracks, he happened to be a couple of feet away from her when he did.

The conversation was painfully awkward and she really didn't want things to be awkward between them: they worked together: they needed to put what happened behind them and move on.

He was about to say something when a very aggressive sneeze interrupted him, a sneeze that was right in her face.

"Shit, I'm sorry," he apologized immediately.

"It's okay." She used the back of her sleeve to clean her face, trying not to think of all the germs that he sneezed on her.

"No, it really isn't. I'm not feeling well and now you're gonna get sick, too."

"Last night I puked on you and today you sneezed on me and I'm probably gonna catch a cold from your nasty fluids," she noted. "Guess this evens things out." Although, technically if she was going to catch something from him the exchange of saliva from the night before would guarantee that.

"Well, last night you didn't just throw up on me so I'm not sure if we're really even," he said in response, there was still some awkwardness and nervousness but nonetheless his tone was undoubtedly flirtatious.

"About that," she began to say uneasily. "I wouldn't have done that if I wasn't drunk."

"Oh, okay," he said in response, sounding a little deflated.

She soon realized that the way she worded her lack of interest in him might have hurt his feelings and quickly added. "It's not that I don't like you because I do platonically and would like it if we kept it that way."

Pete nodded in response, a polite smile on his lips. "Of course," he replied.

Benji looked up from his notes and at the time and decided a break was due. He tilted his head to look at Beca who was laying on her stomach on her bed surrounded by different notes as well as her laptop while she stared into nothing.

"Penny for your thoughts?" He leaned against the chair and watched as Beca snapped out of her thoughts.

"Just thinking about Christmas." She shrugged, looking through the different notes aimlessly. She was glad Benji bought what she told him—or at least pretended he did. There was a lot more going through her mind that she'd rather keep to herself.

"What about it?" he wondered.

"Dad wants us all to spend it together which is gonna be a first. I'm trying to wrap my mind around it," she shared with him.

Benji nodded. "I'm sure it'll turn out great," he optimistically said. "I never celebrated it myself but I hear it's the most wonderful time of the year," he sang.

"Yeah," she chuckled. "It sure is." She grabbed a pencil and began doodling on a paper—she didn't feel like studying but she made plans with Benji to study together and couldn't bail on him because she knew that there was no way he could get any work done at the Trebles' house, the boys were chaotic.

He smiled warmly at her and watched her expression turn thoughtful again, only this time she was looking at him.

"Wanna come home with me for Christmas?" she wondered. "I can't promise you the most wonderful time of the year, though." She really believed it was going to be the most awkward gathering ever. "But Canada is pretty close and the legal age of drinking is eighteen there," she added.

"I don't know," he said, considering it. "Wouldn't I be intruding? You said it's going to be the first time you guys will spend together."

"No, you wouldn't be intruding." She grabbed her phone feeling it vibrate. "It won't be family members exclusive, Amy is coming." She swiped to unlock the screen of her cellphone seeing that it was Jesse that texted her.

"Oh, then sure I'd love to come," Benji said accepting her invitation.

"Awesome," she said meeting his gaze before she checked the text she received.

'What happened?' she quickly typed finding a photo of Thororeo wearing an Elizabethan collar around its neck with the caption 'look who got himself in the cone of shame.'

'He got out of the house and some stray cat beat him.' Jesse's text came fast. 'The vet prescribed him a collar so that he wouldn't scratch the wound on his neck.'

'Poor thing.' She scrolled up and eyed the photo he sent her some more, she cared about the cat more than she thought she ever would. 'He looks miserable,' she noted.

'I Know. He really hates the cone. And, I'm so close to removing it from around his neck.'

'You are not gonna do that.'

'I think I might.' He attached another photo of Thororeo.

'Do you want me to take Thoroero until he heals?' she suggested, knowing that Jesse was very serious.

'The girls wouldn't mind?'

'Nope.'

'I'm a terrible parent. Thank you.'

'You're welcome.'

'You're not gonna acknowledge the former part of my previous text?'

'Am I supposed to tell you that you're not a shitty parent for wanting to take off the one that will help your cat get better because he looks sad?'

'Yep.'

'Noted. Well, I wouldn't call you a terrible parent. Trust me, I know terrible parenting.'

'I just made you feel like shit, didn't I? First Thororeo and now you. I'm a terrible person.'

'Dude, chill out.' It sucked that her parents weren't that great but things were getting better. Thinking about her family didn't upset her as much as it used to. 'You're the least terrible person I know.'

'Aw, Becs, that's the sweetest thing you ever said to me sober. You're hella sweet when you're drunk.'

Okay, that last part there got her heart racing because 'what in the fuck?'

She tried to think of the times she complimented Jesse when she had a few drinks and nothing really stood out as sweet.—she remembered complimenting his ass drunk off her ass but that wasn't sweet.

A dreaded thought crossed her mind and she hoped she was wrong.

She quickly checked her log history and found a phone call she made to Jesse the night before. A phone call that lasted thirty fucking minutes and that she remember zero minutes of.

She was beginning to loathe alcohol because not only she puked on Pete while making but she also drunk dialed Jesse afterward and god knows what she talked to him about—well, she probably said something that counted as sweet in Jesse's books.

"Beca," Benji called. "Is everything okay?" he asked, noticing the change in her expression.

"Uh-Huh." She nodded. "Why wouldn't everything be okay? Everything is perfect!" She ran her fingers through her hair before she grabbed a pillow and groaned into it.

Benji thought she should stop hanging out with Jesse if she wasn't going to tell him how she felt about him and she was starting to see his point.