AN: Hi, people. Sorry for being away for such a long period. Without further ado, here's the next chapter. It would be great to hear your thoughts on it and how you think the story will go from here.

Time moved slowly. The loud music outside felt so far away and Beca liked it that way. She also liked that Jesse was humming the song while they slow-danced to it. She relaxed a little when he didn't utter a word, silently assuring her that she hadn't ruined their friendship by confessing how she felt about him. She rested her against his shoulder and smiled a little to herself: Things were going to be okay.

"Bec?" Jesse called gently.

She answered with a hum, loosening her hold a little.

"Your phone is ringing, I think," he told her.

She tilted her head to look at her phone that was on the desk. "No, that's the reminder I set up," she let him know.

"It's been an hour already?" he mumbled in surprise.

She had a different opinion: it felt longer than an hour.

"Where do you keep the sports drinks? The fridge?" he wondered. "Okay, stay here, I'll get you some of that," he said when she nodded.

Beca stuffed her hands in the back pockets of her shorts when Jesse stepped away to wear his clothes.

"The key?"

"Right." He walked over the garbage bin under her desk and pulled it.

She took it from him and went to unlock the door.

"Wait." He grabbed her by the arm when she turned the key inside the lock. He slipped his arm around her waist as he stepped closer. "Please, don't run away," he mumbled, studying her face. "I really don't want to spend the night looking for you." Also, worrying since she was on drugs.

"I'm not planning on going anywhere other than the bathroom down the hall," she replied to which he nodded.

Jesse then dropped the hand that was on her waist and stepped back, watching her turn on her heels to unlock the door.

He stood in the doorway and waited until she entered the bathroom before he began making his way down the stairs.

The party was on fire, everyone seemed to be having fun. He saw the Bellas dancing and wondered how many of them were tripping just like Beca then figured he'd ask Beca later.

Jesse got what he went down for and rushed to find Beca.

The bathroom door was open and Beca was standing in front of the sink, patting her face with a towel.

She had her hair, a little wet, up in a lazy bun, and had ditched the headband. She also had little to no makeup left on her face from washing up and she never looked prettier.

"Thanks," Beca said, accepting the cup from Jesse and waited until he poured the drink from the bottle.

It wasn't exactly awkward silence that fell but it surely wasn't the most comfortable. They stood in the hallway: Beca chugging the sports drink while Jesse watched her.

"Now what?" she asked, taking the bottle from his hand and pouring a second cup—he could tell she was thirsty and wanted actual water but in her current state sports drinks were the safest option.

"Now," he dragged the word. "We wait until you sober up 'cause we need to talk."

"We're talking right now. I mean it's kind wobbly still and weird… you know how ecstasy works." She waved her hand, failing to describe how she was feeling under the influence of the drug. "But I feel fine. I can talk." She frowned noting the look on Jesse's face.

He seemed thoughtful and a little anxious.

"Hang on," she said in realization. "This isn't about me sobering up."

"What?" he puzzled.

"You need time to figure out how you're gonna deal with this," she continued, gesturing between them. "You only kissed me because you knew I'd feel better. Because you felt bad for me."

"Beca," he called.

She stopped talking to hear him out then let out a humorless chuckle when he said nothing.

"I'm such an idiot," she mumbled, shaking her head.

"Beca, no, that's not it," he said, following her when she began walking away. "I do need time. But it's not for the reason you mentioned."

"What is then?" She stopped walking and turned to face him.

He had nothing to say. Again. He just stuttered for a few seconds.

She rolled her eyes and walked faster.

He cursed under his breath and followed her.

Hurrying down the stairs, he bumped into Pete. "Sorry," he apologized over the music and was about to continue rushing after Beca when he got a better look at Pete: He looked pale.

"You alright, man?" he asked, glancing around to see in which direction Beca went.

Pete looked at him in confusion and said something incoherent—it was both his slurred speech and the loud music that made it hard for Jesse to figure out what he said.

"Okay, you're not okay." Jesse pressed a couple of fingers against a pulse point on Pete's neck to check his heart rate only to find out that the boy was quite cold.

He had to make a choice: Either go after Beca who was high out of her mind and pissed at him or stay and make sure Pete, whose breathing was abnormal and clearly had too much to drink and could be having an alcohol poisoning, was okay.

Jesse inhaled deeply as he supported Pete's weight, helping him climb the stairs.

Pete dropped to his knees as soon as he was in front of the toilet bowl.

"No, no, no," Jesse was quick to say when Pete laid down in the fetal position after he was done throwing up. "Don't fall asleep." He helped him into a sitting position.

"Who are you?" Pete slurred in puzzlement.

"Fuck," Jesse muttered, realizing that his worries were right. Pete had alcohol poisoning. He had to take him to the ER or call in an ambulance: he decided to go with the former option. An ambulance would surely ruin the ambiance of the party.

On the way to the hospital, Jesse could only think about Beca when he wasn't checking in on Pete and making sure he hadn't fallen asleep.

Her current state worried him to no end.

Campus security made students carry rape whistles! Rape. Whistles.

He was justifiably worried sick about her but couldn't exactly leave Pete alone at the hospital. The staff informed Jesse that they're going to wait until Pete's alcohol levels gradually dropped before releasing him.

Pete's alcohol poisoning wasn't severe mainly because he was rushed to the hospital as soon as he began experiencing the symptoms. Jesse hoped it wouldn't take long because he really wanted to go and look for Beca.

Somewhere around 1:30 am, Jesse went to get himself a cup of coffee. On his way back, he walked by the reception and couldn't believe his eyes when he saw Beca talking to the receptionist.

"Beca!" he called in surprise. "Oh my god, what happened?" he asked, hurrying towards her when he saw that she was hurt.

"I fell," she curtly answered before nodding at the receptionist who told a doctor would examine her shortly and accepted the form that was handed to her.

He frowned watching her limp towards a chair and wasn't sure he believe her when she said she fell.

From the scratches on her arm and how swollen her forearm was, he could tell that it was painful—the poker face she held showed none of the pain.

She was tough.

She also seemed sober.

He watched her try to write despite the fact she couldn't exactly move her arm then sighed and took the form from her hand as he sat down next to her.

She did manage to write her first name, which he found impressive.

He began filling in the information he already knew and left the stuff he didn't know to ask her about later.

"I drove Pete here," he informed her which got an actual reaction from her.

"What happened?" she asked not hiding her worry.

He filled her in.

She nodded and shifted her gaze away from his as soon as he finished talking.

"So, did you get outnumbered by raccoons?" he asked, looking at her arm. "And had to fight your way out?" She rolled her eyes: he considered it a win.

"I fell," she repeated her curt answer from earlier.

"Yeah, I got that. But like, did you fall trying to escape the wrath of pissed off raccoons?" He could see a hint of a smile but it was gone in a second—another point for Swanson!

"If you must know I fell into the empty pool," she told him.

"The empty pool?" he echoed in confusion. He knew which pool she was talking about, the one a cappella groups where did their riff-offs. "How did you even up there?" He had a lot of question but he went with the most obvious one and received what he could only interpret as an attempt at shrugging.

He looked up seeing a nurse walk their way and was glad to hear that she'd be taking Beca to see the doctor who would be treating her.

He watched Beca limp behind the nurse and followed her glad no one tried to restrain him.

The doctor gave her very strong painkillers before he manipulated her dislocated elbow back into its place. Luckily, it was just dislocated and there was no nerve damage but the doctor told her to see orthopedist within the next 48 hours before putting her arm in a splint to make sure her elbow joint healed properly.

As for her ankle, it was just sprained.

"You gonna walk home?" Jesse said in disbelief following Beca when she walked past him, ignoring he was even there.

"Does it look like I'm flying home to you?" she deadpanned heading towards the hospital entrance.

"Jesus," he sighed before he jogged after her. "We need to talk."

"No, we don't." She shook her head.

"Yes, we do. I can't stand this… whatever it is." He grabbed her right arm and pulled her back to get her to stop. "I thought it could wait until tomorrow when you're less mad at me but I can't wait." He shrugged, letting go of her arm.

"Oh, now you can't wait to talk?" She let out a humorless and chuckle. "Well, I don't. Forget everything that happened. And while you're at it forget about me." She resumed walking. (Read: limping.)

"You're just saying that because you're mad at me," he reasoned. "I'd be mad at me, too, for letting you walk away without explaining why I needed some time to think." He fell into step with her. "Five minutes. Give me five minutes that's all I'm asking."

She rolled her eyes then let out a breath and rubbed her eyes. "The drugs the doctor gave me are really strong—"

"I understand," he interrupted, aware that she's feeling drowsy from the painkillers. "Just give me five minutes to explain," he requested.

"Fine." She dropped her hand.

He rubbed the back of his neck, figuring to get right into it and hoping she wouldn't ignore him and talk back. "'Round this time last year, I started to develop a crush on you," he shared with her. "I mean it took me about a month to realize that I was crushing hard on you because I was busy feeling sorry for myself and hating every aspect of my life but yeah, it was 'round this time last year." He let out a breath. "I ignored it at first then flat out denied it being more than a tiny crush. When we ended things, I planned to stop talking to you and failed... I eventually sacked up and distanced myself by literally creating so much distance between us and making it hard to keep touch while on the road with Sarah. My feelings for you faded over the summer and I assumed so did yours." The whole time he spoke, she looked at her feet. However, the last thing he said made her look at him.

"You knew?" she questioned in both confusion and surprise.

"You serenaded me, Becs. That was a kind of dead giveaway," he stated.

"I didn't even know I had a crush on you at that point," she deadpanned.

"I know," he smiled, a little amused. "I figured that you got over it over summer like I did." He shrugged. "I really thought I was over you," he sighed, his fingers brushing against hers.

"You're my best friend and my feelings for you went from platonic to romantic to platonic to romantic again over the span of a year. Like, what does that say about me?"

"You're just confused." She cleared her throat, pulling her hand away from his reach. "Think about it, we slept together and I got very sappy—I'm blaming ecstasy by the way— You felt bad and did what you did to make me feel better."

"You got it all figured out, huh?"

She shrugged in response.

"Well, you're wrong. Very wrong." He didn't miss the eye roll his words earned. "I'm serious." He took her hand in his. "While yours truly is weak and was so close to giving in and letting out of the room, the thought of kissing you just to make you feel better never crossed my mind." He squeezed her hand.

He wasn't sure why he kissed her—it just felt like the right thing to do.

"I wouldn't hurt you like that." He frowned hating that he couldn't read her expression. "These feelings caught me off guard, Becs."

"Same," she mumbled back.

"I needed some time to process. I should have said that instead of telling you we should wait until you sober up."

"You should've," she agreed.

"I'm sorry," he apologized. "I promised I'd never let anyone break your heart yet here I am…" he trailed off, sucking a deep breath. "I'm sorry."

He expected her to walk away or insult him or both but surprisingly she did neither. She instead threw her arm, the one not in a splint, around his waist and hugged him.

He hugged her back, mindful of her injury.

"I'm really sorry," he apologized again, placing a peck on her hair.

She nodded into his chest while tightening her grip around his waist, wordlessly telling him that she accepted his apology.

When she loosened her hold, he stepped back and held her chin up to get a better look at her face. She looked exhausted, barely standing on her feet exhausted.

"Wanna have a coffee with me or something sometime next week?"

"If or something is going to the movies then no," she replied making him chuckle, not only for the choice of her words but also for the way she said it. She really was tired. It was great of effort for her to talk.

"While I love movies movie dates suck. You don't even get to talk."

"On second thought, that sound pretty good. Let's do that." She patted his chest.

"Beca, I know you haven't been doing much dating but talking is pretty important especially on a first date."

"We know each other very well so I don't think it would be that important," she countered. "And who said anything about going on a date?" He couldn't tell if she was joking around or really didn't register the fact that he just asked her out.

"I acknowledge the point you make but I stand by what I said," he said slowly, thinking about what he should say next. "This will be your first ever date ever, Becs. I have to make sure it's great," he finally said.

'That should clear it up,' he thought to himself once the words left his mouth.

"Alright, nerd, surprise me…" she mumbled.

"You'll have a great time," he assured her.

Like she said, they knew each other very well.

"I should go check on Pete," he told her, hoping to find that his alcohol levels dropped enough to go home. "Wanna stay in the car until I'm back?" he wondered, subconsciously placing his hand over his pocket and feeling his car keys.

She shook her head. "I'll go with you." She sighed. "He wouldn't be here if I didn't invite him to the party in the first place."

"Wrong. He wouldn't be here if didn't drink too much," he corrected.

"So, how did you fall?" he wondered as they walked.

She let out a heavy sigh. "I found a kitten that was clearly lost… like, he was meowing super loud and all. I figured I'd look around for his family."

"Aw," he cooed.

"Yeah, well, I found his family. There were a bunch of other kittens in the pool. To say the least, the mother wasn't as appreciative as you'd think," she deadpanned.

"She attacked you?"

"Yep!" she showed him the scratches the protective cat left on her calf. "I was standing too close to the empty pool…" she trailed off.

"Was the kitten with you when you fell?" he questioned.

"Yes." She rolled her eyes when he gasped.

"He's fine."

"Okay, thank god." He had to hold back a smile when she shot him a glare. "Although getting scratched up by an angry protective mama is less badass than getting outnumbered by raccoons it's still badass." He laughed when she elbowed him with her good arm.

Jesse went to check on Pete and Beca stayed behind to get something from the vending machine and when he came back accompanied by Pete she was asleep on a chair. He wasn't surprised. She had strong painkillers in her system. And, prior to that, she had taken MDMA.

He didn't even think about waking her up. He just carried her bridal style to his car where he helped her lay in the backseat while Pete finished filling out his paperwork before leaving.

"How much do I owe you?" Pete asked as Jesse handed him an energy bar he got from the vending machine.

"For this?" Jesse frowned. "Nothing. It's just an energy bar."

"No, for paying for my medical bill."

"You owe me and yourself a promise to drink responsibly." Jesse patted his shoulder as they headed out of the hospital.

Pete fell asleep on the ride and Jesse considered waking him up then decided to let him spend the rest of night at his place.

Never in a million years would have Jesse thought a day would come where he'd carry not one but two college kids bridal style to bed.

But here he was, at 2:25 am carrying a 20-year-old boy who was taller than him, he might add, to sleep in his guestroom—he was glad the room was on the first floor because he was sure as hell not going to able to carry him up the stairs and not hurt his back in the process.

He then took Beca to his own bedroom, which easier since she's heavily medicated and wouldn't wake up (she was more a light sleeper normally) and was super tiny.

When Beca woke up the painkillers had long left her system, which resulted in major pain throbbing from her elbow.

"Oh god," she winced accidentally moving her elbow the wrong way as she climbed out of bed. She bit back the pain that shot up from her ankle when she stood up and limbed towards the en-suite bathroom.

"Hey, sleepyhead," Jesse said, looking up from his laptop when she walked into the room. "Did you sleep well?" he wondered as he set his laptop aside and got up.

"Yeah," she replied. "What time is it?" she asked, following him to the kitchen.

"Eleven-thirty," he answered. "I took the prescription from your pocket and went and go this for you earlier," he told her as he placed a drugstore bag on the counter.

"Not on empty stomach," he added when she reached for the bag.

She sighed and rested her good arm on the counter. "What is there to eat?"

"I made a pie. Want a slice?"

"Yeah, pie is nice." She nodded.

"Want a glass of milk with that?" he went on to ask slipping into the role of a waiter as he pretended to note down what she said.

"No. No, milk."

"Uh, there's orange juice."

"Orange juice it is." She sat down on a stool, thanking him when he placed a slice of pie and a glass of orange juice in front of her.

"Slow down," he mumbled, sitting next to her. "No one is chasing you."

"I'm in pain and the only thing keeping me from feeling less miserable depends on having food in my stomach," she answered.

He rubbed her back, knowing better than to try to change her mind.

Jesse grabbed the painkillers and removed the cap for her knowing she'd have trouble doing it herself with one hand while she finished inhaling the pie in record time.

"I don't remember coming here," she told him once she swallowed a couple of pills.

"That's would be because you were asleep," he answered, getting up and taking the plate and glass to wash them. While washing the dishes, he recapped what happened during her unconsciousness.

"Is Pete still here?" she wondered.

"Yup." He dried his hands with a cloth. "I checked on him a couple of times. He's okay."

She nodded and watched him walk towards the fridge and pull something from the freezer.

"For your ankle," he told her, shaking the ice pack.

She extended her hand to take it from him but he shook his head and picked her up bridal style.

"I'm awake now, I can walk."

"I know. I just like carrying you around. You're so light." He sat her down on the couch then sat down and placed her legs on his thighs. "Sorry," he apologized when she winced the moment he placed the ice pack on her hurt ankle.

"It's just cold. It didn't hurt," she clarified.

He trailed the scratches on her calve and chuckled a little thinking of how she got them.

"Shut up." She tried to kick him but he was quick to stop her.

"You gotta admit it's kinda funny."

"I can't move my arm so no it's not funny, Jesse, by any stretch."

He shrugged. "Speaking of your arm, I looked online for bone doctors in town and booked you an appointment at four-thirty."

"It's not broken, I don't get why the doctor at the hospital insisted I'd see a specialist," she grumbled.

"Because a second opinion wouldn't hurt."

"It would cost a fuck ton of money."

"You have insurance," he pointed out. "I'll get your favorite candy after the appointment." He laughed at the dirty look she gave him. "Or if you're hungry we'll go to McDonald's and get you a happy meal. I'm sure they'll buy it if you said you're twelve."

"With how often you make jokes where the punchline is me looking like a kid, I should be running as far as I can away from you."

"I don't know what you're talking about?" he faked looking guilty.

"I can't believe I fell for a pedophile. I'm gonna go lock myself up in my room and cry about it but not before I call the cops on you," she said playing along.

"And tell them what exactly? You're an adult. You consented to everything we've done. You have nothing on me." He shrugged.

"You sick bastard!" she said in her best overly dramatic voice (she drew inspiration from daytime soap opera shows her grandmother liked to watch.) "You disgust me, Jesse." She sniffled before dramatically looking away from him, surprised that she hadn't cracked.

"Oh, baby, don't cry." She felt his hand on her cheek. "This all real for me. We can make it work."

"No, I can't." She shook her head, tilting her head to look at him. "I can't be with a man who's only around because I look young and yet am legal for him to get away with liking children." She was kind of having fun with the strange scenario they were toying despite how ridiculous it was.

Beca frowned when he leaned in, breaking character for a second when he pressed his lips against hers.

"No," she mumbled as he kissed her.

"You want this. Admit it," he said in response. "You're just as messed up."

He grinned when he felt her hand cup his cheek and bring him closer as they kissed passionately before she pulled away laughing.

He joined her in the laughter. "That was really impressive," he said once their laughter died out. "I didn't know you could act."

She rolled her eyes.

"Seriously, Becs, there's some hidden talent there worth exploring." He pressed the icepack her ankle gently to avoid hurting her again. "Painkillers are finally kicking in, huh?" he guessed when she sighed.

"Yep." She stretched.

He smiled at her, watching her lean against the couch.

"I'll come to pick you up for an appointment around four," he told her. "No need to ask one of the girls to drive you there."

"I should go home," she sighed. "They're probably freaking out."

"They called." He paused. "Well, Amy called. I could hear the rest of the girls in the background. I think I was on speaker."

"Did you tell her about my elbow?"

"Yep."

"What else?"

"Nothing. Just your elbow and how you hurt it." He knew why she asked and he'll be damned if he didn't questioned her about it. "Are you gonna tell her about us?"

"I don't know. What are we even?"

"We're best friends and lovers."

"Please don't say lovers," she injected.

"Fine, not lovers. We're best friends who have feelings for each other." He began making random patterns on her leg. "I didn't act on my feelings for you the first time around because I wasn't in a good place but I am now and I want to give this a shot. Do you?"

He wasn't sure why it disappointed him that she didn't blurt out 'yes.' He knew her reasons for never putting herself out there but they weren't enough for him to not feel frustrated with her.

"I want to," she mumbled, not blind to his disappointment. "But you really shouldn't."

"Why?"

"I'm a lot to deal with, dude."

"All I'm asking is for you to actually try." He scooted closer to her. "I'll never get why this freaks you out so much but I can try which is why I'm asking you to do the same. Can you do that?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "I can try."

He closed the distance between them, kissing her. She was gripping his hair and he knew it was nerves. He didn't blame her he'd be freaking out too entering an uncharted territory.

They both broke the kiss, hearing a series of loud and aggressive sneezes.

"Good morning," Jesse said once Pete came into view. "I'm gonna go ahead and assume you're allergic to cats," he said looking between his cat and Pete.

"Yes—" Pete sneezed, confirming much. "Where's the bathroom?" he asked, sniffing.

"Down the hall."

Pete nodded and headed that way.

Jesse handed Beca the icepack and got up to open the windows and air the house.

"Where's did Thororeo go?" Beca wondered.

"In the backyard, I think." He saw her out of the corner of his eyes when she got up and turned around to face her.

"Stop looking at me like that, I can walk. It's just sprained, relax."

He watched her walk towards the kitchen, guessing she was going to check the backyard for Thororeo since the door to the backyard was in the kitchen.

"So, how did I end up here?" Pete asked, stepping out of the bathroom.

"You fell asleep in the car and I didn't feel like waking you up," Jesse answered. "Come on, you must be starved." he began walking towards the kitchen.

"How did I get from your car to the bed?" Pete frowned, racking his brain.

"I carried you to bed. You're such a heavy sleeper. Apple pie?"

"Uh, yeah, thank you. I'm sorry you did what?"

"He cradled you like a baby then tucked you to bed," Beca said entering the kitchen through the backyard door.

"It's only weird if you don't embrace it," Jesse told him.

"Well, thank you. I don't know what would have happened if I didn't bump into you last night."

"Don't worry about it, man," Jesse smiled at him, placing the slice of pie in front of Pete. "Orange juice?" he asked and was met with a nod.

"So, why did you get trashed last night?" Beca asked, sitting next to Pete.

He shrugged. "I didn't mean to get so drunk."

"Right, it just happened that you drank gallons of liquor," she deadpanned. "I invited you to have fun not to die of alcohol poisoning." She didn't want to make it about herself but she'd beat herself up with guilt if something bad had happened to him.

"I did have fun last night. Your friends are awesome."

"Then what the fuck, dude?" She lightly punched him.

He ran a hand through his hair, exhaling through the nostrils.

"Did you even stop to think about your family if something bad happened?"

"Nothing bad happened," Jesse slowly said, stepping in. "He'll drink responsibly from now on, right, Pete?"

Pete nodded rapidity while staring down at the plate in front of him.

Jesse then looked at Beca and shot her a pointed look to which she mouthed 'what?'

He nodded at Pete and she could only translate the look in his eyes when he looked back at her as 'take it easy on him.'

"I'm sorry things aren't okay at home. I get how that must feel. But you can't let it drive you into self-destruction. As cliché as it sounds, you need to be strong for Dan and your mom," she finally said.

"Yeah. I know that…last night won't happen again," he said, holding Beca's gaze.

"Good. Now stop staring at the pie and eat. It's really good."

"Want another slice, Becs?" Jesse wondered.

"Yeah."

"So, what happened to your arm?" Pete asked as Jesse cut a slice of pie for Beca.

"I fell and dislocated my elbow," she said.

"Ouch." He grimaced.

"Tell him why you fell, Becs," Jesse urged, holding back a smile. "Oh, wait. Pete, guess how she fell first."

"I don't know." He shrugged. "You tripped and fell down the stairs?"

"Nope. Guess again." Jesse grinned.

Beca rolled her eyes but decided to let Jesse have it. He thought it was hilarious. She'd think it's funny too if she wasn't the one that had to suffer the pain of a dislocated elbow.

"That's really sweet what you did," Pete said not even trying to hold back his laugh once Jesse told him what happen. "It really is," he insisted when she flipped him off.

"Not all heroes wear capes. Some are into scary earspikes," Jesse quipped and earned yet another eye roll from Beca.

His sense of humor wasn't that funny but overall Jesse's okay... And, things with him were going to be okay.