Thank you so much for all of your support! You all are amazing!

Chapter 6

The school bus screeches to a halt in front of Barden on Monday morning, with Beca and Macy slouched next to each other on one of the seats. There seems to be a collective groan that passes over all of the students, who stand like robots, shuffling down the aisle to exit onto the sidewalk.

Macy doesn't hesitate to reach for her sister's hand once they are off the bus, heading in the direction of the building with the rest of their classmates. As hard as Saturday was for Macy, she was glad to have spent all day Sunday with Beca, even if she was working. However, that doesn't mean that coming to school today is any easier for the twelve-year-old. She's still dreading the moment that Beca leaves her at her classroom, alone once more.

Beca, for other reasons, is also hesitant to enter the school building this morning. She hasn't talked to Chloe since Saturday afternoon, and the thought of facing the perky redhead terrifies her. They managed to finish the project with minimal chatter – Beca is pretty sure that Stacie and Aubrey knew that something happened in the hallway – and Beca had left the house shortly after, arriving at Fig's just before five. The entire time following her conversation in the hallway with Chloe, Beca couldn't even bring herself to look at her, for fear of what other questions were swirling in her head.

There's something special about Chloe, there's no doubt about it. Beca has noticed that when she's talking to her, it truly feels as though she is giving 110% of her attention to the conversation, and actually cares about what you're saying. She's kind and compassionate, and it's obvious that she cares for the wellbeing of others. Beca would love to trust her. She would love to be able to let her guard down and get to know her fellow senior a little more, but Beca isn't going to pursue something that could just end up hurting her and her sister.

They've been burned by seemingly nice people in the past, and she isn't just going to open up to someone that she's only known for a week.

Beca gives Macy's hand a little squeeze. "You ready?"

They walk around a group of students who seem to find it necessary to congregate in the middle of the hallway, causing the sisters, along with other people, to make a conscious effort to walk around them. "I guess."

"Hey, it's easier than last week, right?" Macy shrugs, her fingers tightly interlaced with her sister's. "You're going to be fine, Mace."

Beca can't help but sigh, glancing down at her sister's head while she stares straight into the sea of students in the lobby of the school. She gives her hand another squeeze, wishing that she could take away all of the girl's pain.

If the situation on Saturday deterred Beca from wanting to get closer with Chloe, it did the exact opposite for the redhead. Following Beca's departure, she couldn't keep her mind off of the conversation that she had with the brunette, and the brunette in general. Chloe wasn't exactly sure what had happened during their conversation on the window seat – Beca ended the conversation rather abruptly – but she was determined to make up for whatever she did to make Beca feel uncomfortable. That was never her intention.

As much as she would love to learn more about Beca, she never wanted to push her into a conversation that Beca didn't want to have. Sometimes, Chloe can't help herself; she wants to get close to the people she feels as though she has a connection with. But she knows that isn't the case with everyone, and she is determined to make it up to Beca in order to remedy her over-excitement. This plan is how Chloe finds herself waiting in the lobby of the school, after arriving a half-hour earlier than normal, searching the crowd for Beca's familiar flannel and chestnut curls.

Chloe peers around some of the crowds gathering in the lobby, tapping her foot lightly on the linoleum. Sure enough, as she does so, Chloe spots Beca, an even smaller brunette walking beside her.

Pushing herself off of the bench, Chloe quickly makes her way over to the pair. "Beca!"

Beca's heart stops in her chest when she hears Chloe's voice from behind her. Regardless of only knowing her for a week, Beca is pretty sure she could identify the tone of Chloe's sweet voice laced with the enthusiasm that never seems to leave the girl, anywhere. Beside her, Macy glances behind them to see who has called Beca's name, before the pair freezes in the hallway.

Sure enough, Chloe comes bounding up to them, waving and grinning as she does so. "Hey! How was the rest of your weekend?"

Trying to force a smile on her face, Beca keeps Macy close to her side. She can't even bring herself to look down at the twelve-year-old, terrified of the expression that she might find on her sister's face. Beca keeps her hand firmly around Macy's, determined to diffuse the situation before anything bad can happen. "Uh…hey, Chloe. It was good. How was yours?"

If it's even possible, Chloe's grin seems to widen, her piercing blue eyes twinkling as it does. "It was great, thank you."

Watching as Chloe's gaze drifts in the direction of her sister, it takes everything in Beca not to push Macy behind her. It's not like Chloe is looking at her with judgment or disdain – in fact, it's the exact opposite – but that doesn't stop Beca from being incredibly nervous about the situation. She takes a deep breath, "Um, Chloe, this is my little sister, Macy."

Macy's grip seems to tighten around Beca's hand as Chloe turns her attention completely on the younger girl. Having learned from her mistake this weekend, she doesn't try to bring up that they have already met. Chloe's smile softens ever so slightly before she responds. "It's nice to meet you, Macy. I'm a friend of your sister's."

It doesn't take Macy very long to recognize the other senior. Even her anxiety-induced state couldn't make Macy forget about the girl with the fiery red hair that had stood in front of her, helping her calm down when she couldn't find her sister. That being said, she, too, isn't about to bring up the happenings of last week, because, hopefully, this girl – Chloe – didn't say anything to Beca. Instead, Macy greets the girl at a volume that is barely audible above the roar of the lobby. "Hi."

Beca runs her finger over the back of Macy's hand, discreetly trying to keep Macy calm without making a show of it. She brings her gaze back to Chloe, who hasn't stopped watching them since she came over to say hello. "Well, I should probably get her to class."

"Oh, I'll walk with you!"

For the second time in a matter of minutes, Beca's heart clenches in her chest. "That's uh… that's okay. Her class is in the middle school wing and –"

"I don't mind!" Chloe slides her phone into the back pocket of her jeans, her hands moving so that they're holding the straps of her backpack. She's not going to take no for an answer. She wants to do everything possible to re-earn the small amount of trust that Beca gave her at her house this weekend.

Beca glances down briefly at her sister, whose head is bent firmly in the direction of the ground before she turns her attention back to Chloe. She doesn't want to make a scene about this, and by the way Chloe is standing, it looks as though she won't take no for an answer. But she also doesn't want to put Macy in an uncomfortable, yet avoidable, situation. She weighs her options briefly, figuring that she can just pull Macy away for some more privacy when they get to the classroom, before Beca caves. "Okay."

"Great!"

At Chloe's exclamation, the group of three starts to make their way through the halls in the direction of Macy's homeroom classroom. None of the girls say a word, what with Chloe waiting for Beca to start the conversation, Beca wanting to keep as much of her attention on Macy as possible, and Macy letting her nerves overpower any words that could possibly come from her mouth. It's a silent walk, and by the time they reach the classroom, Macy looks even paler than she did before.

This time, Beca doesn't hesitate to set some boundaries. "I'm going to bring her in. Would you mind waiting out here?"

Chloe doesn't waver. "Of course!" She moves off to the side, watching carefully as Beca leads Macy further down the hallway.

When they are out of Chloe's earshot, Beca positions Macy so that her back is towards the redhead, leaving Beca to kneel down in front of her sister. She offers Macy a tentative smile, "You doing okay, munch?"

Macy can't help herself any longer. "She's your friend?"

Beca shrugs, glancing briefly behind Macy's shoulder, only to see Chloe flicking her attention from her cell phone, to the sisters down the hall. She doesn't really know the answer herself. "That's whose house I went over to on Saturday."

Macy tries to look behind her at Chloe, but Beca pulls her back. "Hey, it's fine. I don't want you to worry about her."

"But –"

"No 'buts'. You just focus on your classes, alright? Let me worry about everything else."

Tears start to swell in Macy's eyes; she hates this part. It doesn't matter what Beca says about this week being easier than the last. She's still going to be alone in her class all day long. "I can still come find you, right?"

"Of course, you can." Beca playfully tugs on the end of Macy's braid. "You know I'm not going anywhere, though, right?"

Instead of responding, Macy wraps her arms around her older sister's neck, inhaling the smell of the cheap shampoo that Jack bought for their bathroom. Beca closes her eyes, tightening her embrace around Macy, and holding her close.

Macy sniffles into her shoulder, causing Beca to sigh slightly. "Mace…" She ignores the stares of the other middle schoolers and tries not to let the fact that Chloe is still standing a few feet away bother her. "Come on, kid, you're okay." Macy's grip seems to tighten around the back of Beca's shirt.

After a couple more sniffles, Beca pulls the two of them apart, her heart breaking at the sight of Macy's tear-streaked face. "Hey, enough of this crying. You're supposed to be the happy one in this relationship."

Beca brings her hand up to her sister's cheek, delicately brushing away a fallen tear. "Try to have a little fun today, alright?" Macy takes another deep breath, trying to stay calm as she anticipates the departure of her sister. "I love you, you know that, right? More than anything?"

A small smile appears on Macy's face. "I love you, too."

Beca pushes herself up off the ground, wrapping her arms once more around Macy, and pressing a kiss into the top of her head. "I'll be in class all day long. If you need anything, you come and find me, okay?"

This time, it's Macy who ends the embrace, taking a step back from her sister with a slight nod of her head. "Okay."

"Alright, then. Get in there and learn something. I love you." She gives Macy's shoulder a short squeeze before the younger girl enters her classroom. After making sure that her sister takes her seat, Beca tears herself away from the doorway, heading back in the direction of where Chloe is standing.

The redhead had been pretending not to pay attention to the pair but couldn't help but watch Beca comfort her – clearly, upset – sister. Chloe has to admit, it was pretty adorable to see, but she couldn't help but feel concerned as to why a seventh-grader was having such a hard time going to class on her own. But, remembering how asking questions got her in trouble on Saturday, Chloe pushes this thought to the side and grins at Beca as she approaches.

Beca, on the other hand, just grasps the straps of her backpack. "Ready?"

Chloe pivots on her foot, starting the lead the way to their English class. She waits a second before starting up a conversation, never having been one to enjoy silence. "Your parents must be thrilled about how close you and your sister are. I have four older brothers and, when we were kids, we used to fight all the time. I mean, we still do, and I'm the only one that lives at home."

Beca's stomach churns; this morning has been hell already and she is not about to make it worse by broaching this subject. "Yeah, they are." It's not exactly a lie… if they were around, Beca's sure they would be 'thrilled.'

The lack of enthusiasm from the brunette doesn't stop Chloe. She has until they get to English to spend some quality time with Beca, and she doesn't want it to go to waste. "How old were you when she was born?"

"I was five." When Beca's parents had told her that she was going to have a little sister, Beca had been thrilled. Then, when Macy finally arrived, after about an hour of sitting in the hospital room with her mother, she had asked her father when the baby was going back. Luckily, her opinion changed rather quickly.

"Aw, that's a good age difference!" Chloe sighs, "All of my brothers are a lot older. Bryan's thirty-five, Christian is thirty-three, Dominic is thirty, and Caleb's twenty-seven. I was, what my parents call, a happy accident."

Despite herself, Beca snorts. "Wow. I guess so."

Chloe playfully hits Beca on the shoulder, laughing along with her. "It's okay, though. It's fun being the baby of the family. Is it just you and Macy or do you have other siblings?"

Beca's smile falters slightly, with Chloe not knowing exactly how accurate her question is. "Um, no, just us." She reaches her hand up to brush a curl behind her ear, her hand lingering just slightly to twist one of her earrings. "Doesn't it kind of suck that it's only you and your parents living in the house?"

This time, it's Chloe's turn to shrug. "I don't know… not really. Aubrey and Stacie come over a lot and it's not like my brothers and their families live far. We see them and their kids and everyone pretty frequently. Sometimes it's nice to go home to a quiet house." Beca slowly nods, sidestepping a group of senior boys that have decided it would be a good idea to play football in the hallway. "You know, you should come over again some time. Just to hang out – not to do a project or anything."

"Oh, um –"

Chloe's excitement gets the better of her. She's glad that Beca is starting to return to the glimpse of the girl that Chloe saw at her house this weekend. She doesn't want to lose that. "You could come over tonight! We could order some pizza, watch a movie or something."

Luckily, Beca doesn't have to think of a lie for an excuse. As nice as Chloe seems – and, let's be honest, Beca really can't ignore the fact that she has to be one of the easiest people to talk to – this is not how Beca does things. In fact, this is how she gets herself in trouble. "I can't tonight. I have to work."

Chloe frowns. "Oh. Bummer. Where do you work?"

They turn the corner to their English class, with Beca trying not to feel bad for Chloe's crestfallen expression. "It's a diner just outside of the city. It's called Fig's."

Chloe thinks for a moment, trying to picture the restaurant, but comes up empty-handed. "I don't think I've ever heard of it."

"It's sort of off the beaten path."

The redhead turns so that she's in front of Beca, but keeps her feet moving so that she's walking backward, something that Beca has noticed she does quite frequently. "Well, you can't come over tonight but maybe another time?"

There isn't anywhere else for Beca to look besides Chloe's wide eyes. She tries to make her voice sound as noncommittal as possible, not wanting to get the redhead's hopes up, but also not having it in her to flat out reject her offer. She's not that cruel. "Yeah, another time maybe."

Chloe grins once more, "Awesome! I'm going to hold you to that."

All Beca can do is sigh and offer her a small smile. What is she getting herself into?

Much to Beca's enjoyment, the school day passed by rather quickly. They submitted their project, she worked her way through a physics assignment, ate lunch with Chloe and her friends (which wasn't horrible, despite her premonitions), saw Macy during history, and managed to embarrass herself in Italian – all in a day's work.

Thankfully, Chloe didn't bring up anything related to Beca going over to her house. It's not that Beca doesn't want to hang out with Chloe, it's everything that comes along with it. And, most importantly, what that would mean for Macy. It's complicated, no matter what way you look at it.

Beca holds the door to Fig's open so that Macy can slip into the restaurant, the sisters instantly taking in the number of people waiting at the tables, and the lone busboy wiping one down. Like always, there are only two or three groups sitting at the booths, and the counter is empty. This time, CR isn't anywhere in the main dining room, much to the dismay of both Macy and Beca.

"Go grab your seat, Mace. I'll be back out in a few minutes."

Macy nods in acknowledgment, before breaking off from her sister and going to her normal spot at the counter. She always feels safe when she's at Fig's, what with both her sister and CR never too far away. It's one of the only constant things that she's experienced in her lifetime, and she's grown to love the smell of fried food and the sound of Beca and CR messing around as they work seamlessly together. It brings her a great sense of comfort that she normally is missing.

After tossing her bag behind the counter and grabbing an apron, Beca makes her way through the kitchen towards the back of the building where CR's office is. She knocks on the door twice before going in and perching herself on the arm of the one chair that's in the room beside CR's desk chair. The desk chair, on the other hand, is currently occupied by the manager, who is leaning so close to the computer screen, that Beca is surprised she can even see anything.

"Do you or your brainiac of a sister know how to work bookkeeping software? Luke thought it would be a brilliant idea to update the computer on my day off and not tell me about it." She scoffs, leaning back in her chair and tossing her pencil to the side. "I've been staring at this thing for an hour and it's still not making sense."

Beca shrugs her shoulders, "I mean I can take a look at it. I don't think Macy is going to be much help, though. Her forte is English, not math."

"She'd probably still be better off than me." CR spins in her chair so that she's facing her younger employee. "How was your day? How's Macy?"

Falling over the arm so that she's laying over the chair rather than sitting on it, Beca turns her head to face her friend. "It was fine. Macy's fine. We had a rough morning, but she ended up having a pretty good day."

"What happened this morning?"

Beca waves off the concern, "The usual. She didn't want to go to class again."

"Did she come looking for you?"

"Mhmm… she made it to sixth period."

The older woman's eyebrows arch slightly in surprise. "That's an improvement."

"Yeah, I guess." Beca sighs, "I just don't know what else I can tell her to make her believe that I'm not going anywhere, you know?"

Growing serious, CR sits up straighter, her nametag crooked on her chest. "Well, it's not like you left voluntarily last time so that probably has something to do with her fear."

Shifting herself so that she's properly sitting in the chair, Beca perches her elbows on her thighs, grasping her hands in front of her. "I just wish she would talk to me about it. Besides the first couple of days, we really haven't talked about what happened."

"She's probably still processing it. I can only imagine how terrified she was. I was terrified and I wasn't even there." The corner of Beca's lip tucks beneath her tooth as she glances towards the ground, guilt creeping up on her. CR notices this almost immediately and raises her voice slightly to bring her back to the conversation. "Dude, don't even go there. What happened wasn't your fault."

Beca scoffs, "Yeah. Okay." She ignores the burning at the back of her throat and pushes herself up off the chair, pulling her curls to the top of her head. "I didn't see Katherine out there, so I assume you're waitressing with me today?"

"Beca…"

She forces a fake smile onto her face, not wanting to talk about this anymore. "I'm fine. Are you coming or what? You're not paying us to sit around here doing nothing."

CR rolls her eyes. She's known Beca long enough to realize when she has to stop pushing her, and this is one of those times. "Yeah, yeah, I'll be out in a minute. Check on Table 5 for me, will you?"

After confirming that she will, Beca makes her way back out into the dining room, waving briefly to the kitchen staff as she does so. No one else has arrived at the restaurant in her absence, so Beca does as CR told her to do, before returning behind the counter to greet her sister.

The twelve-year-old has her science textbook open in front of her, a blank worksheet off to the side. She barely looks up when Beca moves to stand in front of her, bending her neck so that she can catch Macy's attention.

When she does, Macy doesn't even make eye contact as she asks, "Where's CR?"

"She's in the office; she'll be out in a minute." She glances over at Macy's homework. "How many assignments do you have today?"

Tapping her pencil lightly on the counter, Macy keeps her focus on the textbook, her eyebrows scrunched in concentration. "Science, English, history, and math. I'm going to need help with math again."

"Okay. Let me know when you're ready and we'll work it out." Macy barely nods in response, far too invested in the information being presented to her in the textbook.

Beca moves to start cleaning the counter, spraying down the surface, and then grabbing a rag to wipe off the excess cleaner. CR comes up from behind her, peeking her head out from the kitchen. "What are we feeling today, Mace?"

This time, Macy perks up, already grinning. "Can I have a milkshake, please? Extra whipped cream?"

"Sure thing, kid. I'll bring it right out."

With CR going back to the kitchen and Macy returning to her homework, Beca makes her way over to one of the other tables that is finishing up. She grabs the tab, thanks them for coming, and starts to place the leftover dishes in her bus bucket. On her way back to the counter, the door opens once more, the bell ringing as a new party comes in. She glances briefly behind her, getting ready to tell the group that she'll be with them in just a moment, before she catches a glimpse of bright red curls.

Beca stops in her tracks, turning to face the entrance of the restaurant and trying not to let her confusion show. What. The. Hell.

Sure enough, Stacie and Chloe are standing by the hostess station. Both of them are glancing around at the restaurant like it's a foreign land, with Chloe being the first one to lay her eyes on Beca. Her lips, of course, stretch into a grin. "Hey!"

Shifting the gray tub to her other side, Beca wearily approaches the group. "Um, hey… what are you guys doing here?"

Stacie gives Beca a small wave, as Chloe answers. "Well, you said you were stuck at work today, so I thought we'd come and surprise you."

"Why?"

"Because friends visit friends at work." She says it as though it's the most obvious thing in the world, with Stacie looking from Beca, back to Chloe, and then to Beca once more.

Beca's mind spins. It's one thing to see Chloe at school, but it's a whole other thing for the redhead to follow her to work. This might be what 'normal' friends do, but it's certainly not what Beca does, and she doesn't like it one bit. It has caught her off guard, leaving her unsure of what to do.

Snapping out of her confused daze, Beca clears her throat, not a hint of a smile on her face. "You can take a seat anywhere. There are menus on the table."

She doesn't wait for Chloe to make any more comments. Instead, she turns on her heel, making her way back over to the counter where Macy is still bent over her textbook. She needs to get her sister out of here. If Chloe is comfortable enough to ambush them at work, Beca's sure she would be comfortable enough to strike up a conversation with her sister while she's is working, and that is not okay with Beca – by any means.

Abandoning the bus bucket on the edge of the counter, Beca quickly approaches Macy, not really caring who is watching. She lays a tentative hand on Macy's shoulder, and leans in close, keeping her voice quiet. "Hey, Mace, why don't we pack up your things and move you to CR's office?"

Macy looks up briefly, her head quirked to the side. She isn't allowed in CR's office very often. "What? Why?"

Not wanting to get into this with Macy in the open space of the dining room, Beca just shrugs, already starting to gather the younger girl's things. "Because I am asking you to. Come on, grab your bag."

Still confused, Macy quietly picks up the last few things that Beca has left on the counter. She slides down off the stool and is about to follow her sister, before she sees the restaurant's two newest customers. "Beca, what are they –"

Beca doesn't hesitate, placing her hand firmly on the back of her sister's shoulder and guiding her through the doors of the kitchen. "I don't want you to worry about them. We're just going to move you back here for the afternoon, okay?"

"But why –"

"I don't know, kiddo, I really don't." Beca runs a hand over her face, an exasperated sigh coming from her mouth. "Take a seat in the chair and I'll be back in a little while to check on you, okay? I'll have CR bring your milkshake back here."

"And why exactly is CR bringing her milkshake back here?" Surprising both of the girls, Cynthia Rose joins them in the office, a strawberry milkshake in her hand. She places it down on the table beside Macy with a smirk, turning back around to face Beca. "What's going on?"

Macy crosses her legs on top of the cushion, laying her textbook on her lap. She pretends to not be interested so that she can hear what Beca wants to talk about, but her plan majorly fails when Beca leads CR out of the office, closing the door behind them.

Instead of telling her manager what is going on in front of her little sister, Beca brings CR back to the kitchen doors, pointing at the dining room through the window. Her gaze lands on Chloe and Stacie, both of them looking at the menus in front of them. "That's whose house I went over to on Saturday."

CR lets out a low whistle, "Damn Bec, do you go to school with models or something?"

"Not the point." Beca rolls her eyes, definitely not disagreeing with the older woman, but not wanting to start in on that discussion at the moment. "The redhead? Her name's Chloe. She's the one that was asking me about Macy on Saturday. And she was asking me a whole bunch of other questions today at school."

"So? Maybe she's just being friendly." CR's eyebrow quirks upwards, a sly smirk appearing on her face. Beca's been keeping CR updated on the whole Chloe situation since they arrived at Barden last week, and so far, CR hasn't found a problem with the girl - except for the fact Beca doesn't trust anyone that she's just met. "Or, maybe she's trying to get in your pants."

Beca keeps a straight face, but the color rushing to her cheeks gives her away. "Dude – seriously. Don't you think it's a little strange that she just showed up here?"

CR shrugs, taking another peek out into the dining room where the two girls that Beca is so concerned about, have started talking quietly to each other. She understands why her friend is nervous, even if CR doesn't think she has a reason to be. "I mean, it's a little…forward, but I doubt she came here just to mess with you." She watches at the redhead glances up towards the kitchen and then around the dining room, undoubtedly looking for Beca. "Maybe you should let your guard down a little bit and accept the fact that you're a cool kid and people just want to try and get to know you."

Beca scoffs, mumbling more to herself than CR. "Yeah, because that worked out so well the last time." Or the time before that, or the time before that…

It takes everything in CR not to thwap Beca upside the head. The brunette is seriously the most stubborn girl she has ever met. It isn't like the food at Fig's is award-winning – if the girl wants to come to the restaurant just to see Beca, it seems to CR that there is something deeper going on. "I wouldn't count her out yet… maybe give this one a chance."

Beca furrows her brow, a slight wrinkle appearing in her forehead. "How could you possibly come to that conclusion? You are literally seeing her for the first time through a window."

CR once again shrugs, placing her hand on the door, preparing herself to go out to the dining room, "Call it a hunch."

As soon as Beca and Macy are out of earshot, Stacie grips Chloe's arm, her nails threatening to dig into her skin, as the taller brunette lowers her voice. "You didn't tell me that we were coming here to stalk your crush."

Chloe's jaw hangs open slightly, narrowing her eyes accusatorily at her friend. "First of all, Beca is a friend. Second of all, we are not here to stalk her, we're here to visit her." She punctuates the final part of her sentence with a bouncy shrug, a small – albeit seemingly innocent – smile stretching across her lips. Today was better with Beca, and she wants to continue proving to the girl that she truly meant what she said about becoming fast friends.

Even though Stacie is willing to ignore Chloe's denial – for now – she isn't about to let her get completely off the hook. "Chloe, you can't just show up to someone's work like this, especially after you've only known them for a week." Chloe starts to lead them over to a table by the windows, seating herself so she can watch the door that Beca and her sister disappeared through. "How did you even find out she works here anyway?"

"She told me." The redhead takes two menus out from behind a bottle of ketchup, handing one of them to Stacie. "I don't see what the big deal is. Beca is clearly nervous about starting at a new school. We should be making her feel welcome."

Stacie sighs, trying to phrase her thoughts in a way that doesn't completely destroy her best friend. "Chlo, you have a giant heart, and that's one of the things I love most about you. But, based off of everything that we've seen about Beca, she might just need a little bit of space to get acclimated." After talking with Beca on Saturday, Stacie couldn't imagine herself having to transfer schools when she did, let alone predicting how she would react. Who knows what's been going through Beca's head since she arrived.

A small frown appears on Chloe's face as she looks up in the direction of the kitchen, wishing she could catch another glimpse of the brunette. She knows there's something special about Beca, and Chloe doesn't want to just give up on her. "She shouldn't have to do that by herself, though."

"I'm not saying that you shouldn't be friends with her, but maybe just give her a little breathing room. She's getting used to a new school, new classmates, and there's clearly something going on with her sister…" Stacie reaches out on grasps Chloe's hand, "Just give her a little time. I'm sure she'll come around."

And besides, Stacie has seen the way Beca's looked at Chloe, too. There's no denying that there's something there.

I don't know why, but I was super nervous writing this chapter and I would love to hear your thoughts on it. Thank you so much for reading!