Jesse could see Beca when she walked around the block, finally getting home. She texted him to tell him that the subway was down and that she's walking back home since it was rush hour and cabs and uber were useless. He was already close to her apartment when she texted him so he just stayed at a coffee place nearby. He stayed there for about an hour before he decided to wait outside her apartment building, figuring an hour was long enough for to walk home.
"Hey," he greeted, smiling at her when she reached him. He then got a good look at her face, she didn't seem well. He figured her long walk from work exhausted her.
"Hey," she replied, smiling back curtly. "Sorry I kept you waiting."
"It's okay." He shrugged and followed her into the apartment complex.
He was going to help her assemble the new bed frame she got from IKEA because the one that came with the apartment was old and squeaky— she'd often wake herself up when she'd toss and turn in her sleep. She initially planned to do it herself only to realize that it was meant to be assembled by two people. Jesse was more than happy to help.
"How was work?" he asked, eyeing the drugstore bag she had in her hand while she unlocked the door to her apartment having reached it.
"Okay." She shrugged, walking inside and heading to the kitchen. She grabbed a cup from the cupboard, filling it with tap water and chugging it down.
"Everything alright?" he asked. "You seem a little tense."
She sucked in a breath then said, "I woke up feeling super nauseous. And, while at work, it hit me that I haven't gotten my period in like two months." She let out a humorless chuckle. "Who doesn't realize they're late for a couple of months?" She pulled the pregnancy test from the bag.
She filled her cup again and chugged it down and only then Jesse noticed how shaky her hands were. She was terrified, he realized.
"It could be just your stress levels affecting your period, Beca," he noted. "And if it's not, you can safely take care of it."
"Unless I'm too far along and can't actually take care of it and all because I didn't realize sooner," she deadpanned, placing the cup down. "I really can't have a baby, Jesse. I'm not meant for motherhood. And I hardly know the father. I can't do what my parents did to me another person."
"You won't," he was quick to say.
"Why? Because having had neglectful parents growing up means I'd know better than to fuck up my kid?" She rhetorically asked. "Well, my mom had a pretty horrible dad, too." She clicked her tongue, taking off her backbag and turning on her heels.
Jesse followed her to her bedroom. Standing by the closed bathroom door, he waited for her to come out.
He frowned when he heard her sniffle. "Beca, you okay in there?" he wondered. He'll admit his question was dumb so he wasn't surprised when she didn't answer. He rubbed his cheek and just stood there, listening to her sniffle as she waited for the test result.
A few minutes later she unlocked the door. Jesse held his breath in anticipation as he took in her appearance. She was wiping her cheeks with one hand as she said, "It's negative."
Jesse pulled her in a hug when the tears kept coming. Soon enough she was sobbing in his arms. He held her until her sobs subsided.
"How about you go take a long shower while I make you something to eat?" he suggested.
"There's nothing in the fridge to cook," she replied, sniffing.
"I'll make a quick trip to the grocery store." He shrugged.
They could order take out but he had a feeling that her nausea had something to do with her diet. It consisted of takeout and junk food. She wasn't getting enough essential nutrients. "Don't worry, I won't take forever," he assured. "We'll eat dinner then assemble your bed frame." He nodded at bed frame parts that were placed in the corner while her mattress was on the floor.
"It's fine if we don't. I can sleep on the couch." She wiped her nose with her sleeve. "God, I can feel a migraine coming." She groaned.
"You should go see a doctor, Beca. All these migraines and your period being late, there could be a medical issue to be treated." He loosened his hold, feeling her pull away.
"Yeah, I'm definitely going to my OB/GYN. See if this one would agree to tie my tubes, the one in Barden insisted that I was gonna change my mind about kids. Like, I'm gonna wake up one day and want to be a mother as all women do according to him."
Jesse shook his head, "That's very sexist."
"Yeah," she agreed.
"How can I help?" Beca asked, joining Jesse in the kitchenette after showering and changing into her pajamas.
"Uh. I'm good actually," he said, wiping his hands with a cloth.
He planned to make her his family's soup which luckily wasn't that hard to prepare nor was it time consuming. Soup aside, Jesse made One-pot sausage and veggies. And, for dessert he made a fruit salad.
"You should go rest a little until dinner is ready. How's your head?"
"I took painkillers before showering and they're barely working."
"You out of pot?" he wondered.
She shook her head. "I'm trying to smoke less. I've been coughing a lot lately." She rubbed her temples. "You sure there isn't anything I could do?"
"Positive," he assured, eyeing her as she stifled a yawn. "Try to sleep. I'll wake you up for dinner."
"Thanks," she mumbled and turned on her heels, heading to the couch.
It was amazing how much of light sleeper Beca was. It barely took a nudge to her shoulder for her to wake up. She followed him to the Kitchenette and sat down by the counter. They dined in comfortable silence.
Jesse was thrilled that Beca finished everything in front of her. Giving her headache and nausea, he really thought she wouldn't eat much.
She insisted she'd wash the dishes because he cooked so he put leftovers in Tupperware which he stored in the fridge then sat down by the counter and pulled out his cellphone to scroll through his social media feeds until she was done with the dishes.
"Did you have anything planned tonight?" Beca asked.
"Nope. Not really," he answered. "I was gonna spend the night in and watch Netflix teen originals. I'm trying to mess up the recommendation system for Sarah to get back at her telling mom about my almost tattoo," he told her. "Mom freaked out because Sarah told her I'm getting it on my neck just to fuck with me."
"Damn, why would she do that?"
"Well, while she was away I turned one of the rooms into a working space. The room was a guestroom and she's upset that I changed it."
"You can't just repurpose a room in a home that isn't yours. Get your own place, man," Beca said, siding with Sarah.
"I didn't think it's that big of deal." He shrugged. "I personally think she overreacted because she was on her period."
"Wow!"
"It's not sexist if it's very true and not some bullshit assholes say to undermine women's feelings. I know my sister. Ever since we were young, she'd get serious mood swings when she's on her period," he explained.
"So, now you're just gonna mess with her until she figures it out and does something back?"
"Yeah. Pretty much." He nodded. "It'll probably go on until I move out, I suppose."
"You Swansons sure are persistent," Beca noted.
"Damn right we are," he agreed.
It didn't take them too long to assemble the bed together. Jesse would have left if Beca didn't ask if he knew any good movies on Netflix they could watch. He knew plenty of great movies on the platform. He made them popcorn, which he purchased when he went grocery shopping for dinner because he noticed that she didn't have any, then got comfortable on the couch and put on Jaws.
"Did I tell you about the time I swam with sharks in Hawaii?" Jesse wondered.
"Nope," Beca mumbled sleepily.
"Yeah, it sounds way cooler than it actually is. You just swim in a cage near sharks." He shrugged. "It's still cool but not as cool as you'd expect."
"I don't think it's cool at all. I think it's dangerous and a stupid way to get yourself either killed or amputated if you're lucky." She yawned.
"It's safe, Beca. There are rarely any accidents," he assured. "I did my research. I'm not stupid. I wouldn't put myself in harm's way just because my girlfriend once expressed an interest in the activity and I wanted to surprise her with it on her birthday."
"You took Amber to Hawaii for her birthday just to swim with sharks?"
"We were in Hawaii for a destination wedding. We extended our stay for a couple of days to celebrate her birthday there."
"That's really thoughtful of you, Jesse."
"Yeah, I'm a great boyfriend," he said.
"Debatable," she grimaced.
"Excuse you?" He frowned.
"Well, you're here when you should be in Barden with your girlfriend. And, don't use work as an excuse because you can get things done over the phone or through emails."
"I like being in the city. There's nothing to do in Barden. And, yeah, I do miss Amber. I just want to spend time here because I like it here. I don't think this makes me a bad boyfriend. Besides, she hasn't complained about the distance."
"You don't think she's upset just because she hasn't said anything?"
"Amber would have said something if she thought I was spending too much time in New York," he said. "I know her."
"You plan to get your own place here, what does Amber think about that?"
"I haven't talk to her about it yet."
"Dude," Beca called.
"I'm gonna talk to her about it. Now shut up, I'm trying to watch the movie," he said in mock-annoyance.
She did stay quiet but only because she fell asleep shortly after they stopped talking. He was fascinated by how fast she had fallen asleep and wouldn't have noticed if it weren't for the fact that she leaned against him in her sleep.
When his arm got numb, he very carefully pulled away and guided her down so she'd use his thigh as a pillow, grateful that the motion didn't wake her up.
Jesse then continued watching the movie while twirling a lock of her hair between his fingers.
Beca woke up when her phone chimed with a text, which was truly a testament to how much of a light sleeper she was.
She rested her weight on her elbow and reached over to grab her phone from the coffee table.
"Is this the guy you were worried you're gonna have a baby with?" he found himself wondering as she read the text she received.
"Yup." She placed her phone on the coffee table without replying then sat up. "We hooked a while ago and really thought that was the end of that," she shared with him and Jesse was surprised that her immediate reaction to his question wasn't to tell him to mind his own business.
She opened up to him about her personal life.
Jesse was realized just then that they truly rekindled their friendship and they were as close as they once were, if not closer.
"Was his text a bootycall?"
"No," she yawned. "He asked if I'd like to hang out tomorrow. Said something about a new bar he discovered. I'm ghosting him because I don't know if I want to date right now."
"Does he know that?"
"Yup. Told him as soon as he asked me out the first time around. He said he understood and asked if we could be friends. I said sure to be polite even though I have no interest in being friends with him." She paused a half a second, tilting her head to look at him. "Because I learned the hard way that I shouldn't hook up with friends," she smiled tightly at him. "Took me like a year to get over you, dude."
"Me, too," he smiled a little. "You're very hard to forget, Beca. It almost ruined my relationship with Amber if it wasn't for the fact that she's so patient and is like the chilliest girlfriend in the entire world." He sighed. "But this is different. You just hooked up once. You don't know him yet. You could put the fact that you've seen each other naked behind you and be friends." He shrugged. "I know you said you're not sure if you want to date but your friendship could develop into something— it doesn't have to be serious or anything— Casual dating is fun. You might change your mind and want to get into a relationship with him or you'll just have fun with him for a while and then call it quits. So, just think about it."
"I'm not taking dating advice from you," she said in response, leaning against the couch.
"You don't have to be a perfect significant other to know how to give good dating advice."
"So, you do admit you're not that great of a boyfriend."
"No one is a perfect partner, Beca," he mumbled. "We've missed so much of the movie," he realized. "I love this part. The music is so good. John Williams is a freaking genius."
"Deflecting much, Swanson," she knowingly said, nudging him.
He rubbed his face before tilting his head to look at her. "I don't know if I love or hate the fact you can just call me out like that."
"Friends are supposed to call each other out." She shrugged, sitting up.
"Best friends," he corrected and she rolled her eyes.
"Amber is great and you're being an idiot."
"Yeah," he sighed, scratching his head. "It's too late to call her now, I'll do it tomorrow," he then said after checking the time to see that it was nearing eleven pm. "You're taking the day off tomorrow to see your doctor, right?" he checked.
She should be sleeping if she had to wake up for work the next day.
"Yeah," she nodded. "I need an extended weekend anyway."
"You do," he agreed. "Do you have anything planned or are you open to suggestions?"
"I'm just gonna sleep in and like do a Korean face mask or something," she informed. "What did you have in mind?"
"Well, let's see." He paused. "Make a super healthy and balanced breakfast. Go for a walk around central park and pet all the dogs. Head home and take a dope ass nap. Call your family and see how they're doing. Work on your personal music projects a little if you're in the mood."
"That's nice. However, the first one will probably result in a huge waste of food."
"Do you ever plan on learning how to cook?" he found himself wondering. "It could save a lot of money, you know?"
"I know. I also know you just follow a recipe and that's it. I just get home really tired from work and barely have any energy left so I just order takeout. I guess can try to cook something over the weekend."
"Yeah, I'll text you some easy beginner recipes to try out," he suggested.
"Cool. Thanks." She glanced at her phone when it chimed again indicating the reception of a text and grabbed it, long enough to see it was from before she placed it on the coffee table again. Jesse guessed it was from the same guy. "Hey, I have a spare toothbrush if you wanna spend the night over," she then said. "Also, Dad left his pajama set when he came to visit. I know you like to get comfortable and they're really comfortable." she added a few seconds later.
"Thanks, Becs," he chuckled.
He sure would love to get out of his jeans but he didn't really consider spending the night over. He was fine heading to his sister's place once Beca went to bed. She didn't want to be alone after the pregnancy scare and he didn't mind keeping her company and taking her mind off of it.
"Did he leave them or did you like them decide and keep them?"
"He forgot about them and I didn't remind him," she told him. "The shirt is super comfortable to sleep in."
"Why am I not surprised your dad sleeps in a pajama set?" He snorted. "Wait, did you let your dad spend the night on the couch?" he wondered, remembering her horny neighbors.
"Of course, not. I took the couch. A conversation about how my neighbors fuck like they're filming a porno is one I will never have with my father over breakfast."
"But you're fine having it with me, your super awesome best friend," he grinned.
"You'd sleep through anything, Jesse," she pointed out.
"I would," he sighed.
Instead of calling Amber to tell her about his plans to rent an apartment in New York and split his time between the city and Barden, he figured he'd travel to Barden and talk to her in person. So the next day, he booked a ticket and headed there.
He also planned to have a proper conversation about how distance affected their relationship and see if she had any issues with his absence because Beca made a really good point.
Jesse didn't tell Amber he was coming home, he wanted to surprise her so he took a cab to their place.
No one was home which made sense to him: Amber worked and Theresa was at school.
His beloved cat greeted him by rubbing itself against his leg and purring, making Jesse feel bad for being away for so long. He was scratching his boy's chin when he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket and pulled it to find a text from Beca filling him in on her doctor appointment like he had asked.
'Test results came back fine. Doc sent me a shrink, though.'
'Glad to hear your physically well. How do you feel about seeing a therapist?'
Her reply came in quickly shortly after he hit send. 'Fine. I booked an appointment with the one my doctor recommended for Monday.'
'Did you ask about the surgery?' Jesse asked.
'Yeah. Told me she wouldn't do it because the risk of sterilization failing is higher when a person gets the procedure done at a younger age. I'm gonna have to wait until I'm over 30.'
'Couldn't your last ob/gyn just tell you this? Why make it sexist?'
'ikr! You in Barden?'
'Yup. Just got home. You home?'
'Nope.' She then sent him a photo of a really cute dog. 'I'm at Central Park, petting all the dogs.'
'Nice.' He was glad she took his suggestion. 'Have fun.'
When Jesse went back to New York, Amber came along while her daughter stayed with her best friend's family in Barden. She had school and couldn't tag along nor did she really want to travel with them to New York. It was just he and Amber. She was staying a few days and he was glad to have her with him while apartment hunting.
He planned their trip in a way he wouldn't miss Beca's audition. He knew she planned to blow it and was only doing it because she promised him but that didn't make him less excited to be on the audition panel. He was going to try very hard to stay objective and not let his bias show.
Jesse truly believed Beca was a perfect choice for the part. He freaking wrote the thing with her in the back of his head. She'd be playing a version of herself. He didn't tell the other members of the panel that, though.
The last thing he expected to happen was a serious attempt from his friend so when she did just that, he was lost for words. He had to be dreaming because Beca Mitchell clearly said she had no interest in pursuing a career in stage acting. Yet here she was giving a rather impressive audition and from the discussion within the panel was very likely going to receive a call back.
Her singing was on point: She hit all the notes and picked a perfect song to showed off her range.
He wasn't familiar with the monologue she picked but she also nailed it.
He couldn't wait for them to take a break to go and talk to her about what made her change her mind.
"Explain what just happened?" he asked, calling her when he didn't find her backstage by the time the panel took a break.
"What do you mean?" she asked back.
"Beca, you nailed your audition!" he exclaimed.
"You really think so?" she sounded a little doubtful.
"Yes. I really think so." He paused. "You were so good, Becs."
"No, don't do that, Jesse," she deadpanned. "Don't get it into my head, man. Have you seen the number of people auditioning? And, they all have far more experience than I do in Musical Theater."
"Experience is a bonus but it's not required," he let her know. "What made you change your mind?" he demanded. His break wasn't long and he needed to know.
She sighed, "The few therapy sessions I've had so far helped me pinpoint the source of all my stress and anxiety: my career. Because it's not going exactly how I want it."
"Yeah, 'cause your boss is an idiot," he said.
"My therapist suggested I explore other paths since my career is affecting my mental health. So, I figured I'd give this a shot. I've always enjoyed theater and I miss being on a stage. If this doesn't work out and it probably won't, I think I'm gonna move to L.A."
"L.A." He frowned.
"Yeah, there are way more opportunities on the west coast and it's what I always wanted."
"Okay," he mumbled, glancing behind him when he heard Donald call his name. "I have to go. Wanna hang out later?"
He still wanted to talk to her about L.A. and her plans for the future.
"I have plans tonight," she replied.
"Cool. I'll text you." Jesse didn't want her to move to L.A. because he was selfish and didn't want to lose her again.
"Jesse, I said I have plans," she repeated.
"Yeah, I heard you. We don't have to have hang out tonight. I'll text you to make plans some other time. Cool?"
"Okay, sure."
Hanging up the phone, Beca stuffed it in her jacket and tilted her head to look at Stacie, who was going to be in the city for a week and was staying with her for the duration of her trip.
"We get off at the next stop."
"You're moving to L.A.?" Stacie puzzled.
"I don't know yet," Beca said in response, shrugging.
"I thought you liked it here?" the taller brunette said in confusion.
"I do," Beca answered.
"Then why move across the country where you'll be all alone? At least here you have Amy and Benji. And, Jesse, apparently. When did he get back into your life?"
"Ran into him at his sister in law's Christmas party last year."
"Are you two hooking up again?" Stacie asked.
"No, and that's never gonna happen again," she firmly said. "Because, A: he has a girlfriend. And, B: I'm not even attracted to him."
"Sure," Stacie snorted.
"I'm not," Beca insisted. "Come on," she added, reaching to take her friend's suitcase when the subway stopped.
A childhood friend of Stacie's was getting married and had invited her for her bachelorette party, which was going to take place over the weekend. Stacie took the whole week off to spend some time with Beca and Amy.
"Morning," Beca mumbled, rubbing her eyes as she added sugar to her mug of coffee, when Stacie walked into the apartment.
"Good Morning," Stacie said back. "I got us croissants to have for breakfast," she informed her friend, walking towards her.
"Thanks," she smiled at Stacie. "How the hell do you look so well put together doing the walk of shame?" Beca wondered and was met with a shrug.
Stacie spent her first night in the city with some random guy she picked up at a bar when she, Beca, and Amy went out.
"It's all really about taking some time to do brush your hair and put some makeup on," Stacie let her know.
"Makes sense," Beca mumbled. "Coffee?"
"Yes, please," Stacie said and Beca proceeded to grab an empty mug from the cupboard and fetched her friend some coffee.
Beca frowned, watching Stacie swipe left on a Tinder profile as she sat down next to her to eat breakfast. "Why Tinder?" she was confused because her friend most certainly didn't need an app to get laid.
"We're in New York City. One of the most culturally diverse parts of the country. And, you know he's a hunter in need of fresh meat."
"Of course, he is." Beca took a sip of coffee.
Beca made a mental note to make some time to go and buy a new cellphone. Her current one's battery died really fast and it was becoming annoying. She hooked it to the charger as soon as she got to work and didn't check it until her lunch break.
Beca received a few texts while it was charging which she went through as she ate lunch.
First one was from Jesse, asking if she'd be free in the evening. She knew he had a lot of questions about her futures plans and was actually looking forward to talking to him and getting his perspective. He was a good friend and she valued his opinion.
Second text was from James who she had stopped ghosting mainly because she got really high one night and was so bored that she spent most of it texting him. He wasn't too bad to talk to.
The last one was from Stacie and it was a screenshot of a Tinder profile she came across, followed by the question: Isn't this Jesse's girlfriend?
It was her and Beca couldn't believe her eyes. She couldn't believe that Amber would do something like this to Jesse.
She spent the rest of the day, thinking about what she had learned about Amber. She was upset on Jesse's behalf and wasn't looking forward to telling him because it was going to break his heart.
She had to do it, though. There was no question there. He had to know.
She was meeting him after work for a drink and she planned to tell him then about her discovery.
"Tough day at work?" Jesse asked as she was sitting down.
"It was okay." She ran her fingers through her hair. "I'm just hungry."
"Well, you're in luck, my friend. Because this bar serves excellent food," he informed.
And, he was right. She got a burger and a salad and they were both pretty tasty.
"So, tell me more about the whole moving to L.A. thing?" he asked. "What's that about?"
"It was my original plan. New York is great and all but I looked at jobs in L.A. There are far more gigs over there. I won't rush and accept the first offer I get like I did with my current job." She paused. "All I know at the moment is that L.A. would be a fresh start." She shrugged.
"You could have a fresh start here, Beca. Doesn't have to be L.A. I'm sure there are opportunities here, too."
"There are, yeah," she agreed.
"Look. You said you're not gonna rush and that's great. So, just take your time. Talk it through with your therapist. I'm not a professional but I'm here, too. Although, I am bias because I really don't want you to move. But I will support you no matter what because that's what friends do."
She couldn't help but smile. "Best friends," she corrected.
She didn't think they'd ever go back to being as close as they once were but she really considered him a very close friend.
"Damn right we are," he beamed.
He made his way back into her life and she was very glad to have him. Jesse was annoyingly supportive and a little overbearing. She was aware of his little schemes to get her to eat better. Like, the bar he picked and the food they made. He tried not to be too obvious but she knew and she appreciate it.
She owed him the truth so she sucked it up and decided to get it over with. "Hey, Jess," she called. "There's something you need to know about." She reached into her pocket.
"What's up?" he puzzled.
Turning her phone on his direction, she kept her eyes on his face. "I'm so sorry, man," she said, watching a frown form on his forehead.
"What were you doing on Tinder?" he wondered, which she found a little confusing.
"I'm not on Tinder," she mumbled. "Stacie came across this. Why aren't you upset?" He seemed more curious about her using the app than what she was actually showing him. "Did you know about this? Did you know that your girlfriend is cheating on you?"
He scratched his chin, sighing. "She's not cheating. We've opened our relationship because she recently realized she's bi and wanted to explore her sexuality," he informed her. "I didn't mention it because she hasn't told anyone yet. I didn't wanna out her."
"I understand." She paused. "How do you feel about it, though?"
He shrugged. "Opening our relationship after all this time feels a little weird but I'll get over it. I want her to be happy and true to herself."
Beca would feel weird too and might not take it as well as Jesse did. If she were in his shoes, she would have ended the relationship instead of agreeing to open it. She was proud of him for the way he's handling his girlfriend coming out.
"I take back what I said the other time. You're a great boyfriend."
"Thanks," he chuckled.