Thank you for the support last chapter! This one is shorter, but Saturday's chapter (Chapter 9) is almost 10,000 words long so hopefully that will make up for it.

Chapter 8

In the middle of her third week at Barden, Macy finds herself walking through the hallway during her lunch period, not really having any one destination in mind. She ate her lunch relatively quickly, tucked in the corner of the cafeteria by herself, and afterward, couldn't bring herself to sit watching the rest of her classmates. So, she left.

This time, in comparison to all the other times she's wandered the halls of the school, Macy isn't out searching for her sister. As they've both started settling in a little more, Macy is becoming slightly more comfortable with spending time apart from Beca and has gone a couple of days without going to visit her during class. It still isn't the easiest thing to get over, but Macy just tries telling herself that there's nothing to worry about and to focus on her teacher rather than the fact that she doesn't know Beca's exact whereabouts.

It's not a perfect science, but she's working on it.

The young brunette sticks her hands in her pockets, peeking her head into some of the empty classrooms. Most of them have their lights off and doors closed, but some have the occasional teacher that's still working at their desk while their students are at lunch. Macy walks quickly past these ones, her head down. She hasn't gotten the chance to explore the middle school building, which she typically enjoys doing, and is glad that she has the silence of the hallway to do it today.

At the end of the hallway, though, a much bigger room has its doors wide open, welcoming anyone in. Macy cautiously approaches the area, before a smile starts to spread on her face, her navy eyes taking in the sight.

Of course she managed to find the library.

Unlike her steps leading up to the space, Macy confidently enters the library in the middle school wing, instantly feeling at peace surrounded by the rows and rows of books. The circulation desk is immediately to her right, but the librarian is nowhere to be seen. While there are some tables nestled in between the shelves, the room looks relatively empty.

Macy takes a deep breath, inhaling the familiar scent of worn books and thinning paper. She's always been one to find comfort in any sort of novel or reading material – whether it be fiction, nonfiction, a magazine – anything that she can get her hands on. Before her father died, he had been an English professor and instilled a love for books in both of his daughters. Now, she likes to think of it as one of the things that keeps her connected to Warren Mitchell, even seven years after his death.

She runs her hand along one row of books, reading the spines of the hardcovers carefully, their plastic coverings soft against her fingers. She recognizes some of them, a familiar title sticking out here and there, but, much to her delight, she can't recall actually having read any of them, meaning that there are plenty for her perusal.

"Hi."

Having become so engrossed with the book selection, Macy jumps at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, her heart rate picking up quickly as she turns around. Apparently, she didn't inspect the library as thoroughly as she thought she did, because, sure enough, there's a boy sitting at one of the tables, a book open in front of him.

He looks to be about Macy's age, maybe a little older, with thick brown hair that's long, but is slightly curly and sticks up around his head. His t-shirt is wrinkled, depicting a fake tie 'hanging' around his neck, and the trash from his lunch is pushed off to the side of the table. He offers Macy a small smile, waving a little to the girl, before starting again. "I'm Benji."

Macy audibly gulps, looking around the library one last time to see if there is anyone else in their general vicinity, before taking a hesitant step towards the boy. "I'm Macy."

Benji nods, "I know. I'm in some of your classes."

Heat rushes to her cheeks. In her defense, she's been a little distracted these last couple of weeks. "Oh. Sorry."

The boy shrugs, almost as though he's used to it. He closes the paperback that he was reading and lays it down in front of him. He folds his hands on top, never once looking away from Macy. "It's okay. You just moved here, right?"

"Um, yeah." Macy lays her hands on the chair that's across from Benji. There's something about his presence that doesn't make her completely nervous. She's never been good at making – or keeping – friends. She's always been too quiet and typically arrived at the school during the middle of the school year. She never has the cool new gadgets or the nicer clothes. So, she mostly keeps to herself to avoid the judgmental – and often harsh – comments of her classmates.

Wanting to keep the attention off of herself, Macy gestures to the book, one of the few things she can comfortably carry on a conversation about. "What are you reading?"

Benji grabs the paperback, holding it up to show the cover. It's torn in a few places, but even through the wear and tear, Macy can see it's a novelization of one of the Star Wars movies. His finger is covering the full title, but Macy can make out that much. "It's Star Wars, A New Hope. I'm rereading the novels again. I really like Star Wars."

A laugh escapes Macy's lips, starting to feel comfortable around her newfound classmate. "I've never read them. Or seen the movies for that matter."

Benji's jaw drops open. "What?" His expression reminds Macy a lot of how Beca used to get when Macy didn't know or like a certain song. "How have you never seen Star Wars?"

"I don't know… my sister isn't a huge fan of movies and I guess I was never really interested in the books," Macy still tries to compose herself, Benji's shocked face never changing. "Sorry?"

"You should be! The movies are amazing, and the universe itself is just... ugh it's perfect." He shakes his head to himself, but Macy just shrugs, not really having a more valid excuse. "You're going to have to come over so that we can watch the entire saga. My dad has all of them."

If it's even possible, Macy grins even wider. She can't remember the last time something like this happened to her, and it happened so quickly. "Okay."

Benji grins back, incredibly content with the fact that his new friend doesn't seem turned away by his interests. He can already tell that Macy isn't like the other seventh graders at Barden, and he can't be more excited.

While Macy enjoys the rest of her lunch period with Benji, her sister is on the other end of the building eating lunch with her own friends.

It's been a little over a week since the conversation that Beca had with Chloe in English, and since then, Beca has been gradually getting more comfortable around the three other seniors. Not that she'll be best friends with them any time soon – they don't even know about her and Macy being in foster care – but Beca has found herself not being as nervous around them. And, true to her word, Chloe has been giving her a little bit of space but has not abandoned her promise of the two of them becoming 'fast friends.' Whether or not Stacie and Aubrey are happy about that is another story, but Beca has actually started looking forward to seeing the redhead in school, and, at this point, she doesn't want anything to change that.

"Alright, ladies." Aubrey folds her, now empty, lunch bag and places it back in her backpack, capturing the attention of the three other girls at the table. As much as she isn't a fan of Beca's doom-and-gloom attitude, she has been instructed by Chloe – and Stacie, occasionally, on behalf of Chloe – to play nice. So, until the alt-girl messes up, she will wearily accept her presence in her best friend's life. "What's the plan for Sunday?"

Stacie places the cap back onto her water bottle after taking a sip. "The game starts at two. Tom is having a party at his place afterward."

Beca glances carefully around at the three other girls, all of them seeming to know what Aubrey and Stacie are talking about. She leans into Chole, keeping her voice low. "What's Sunday?"

The excitement practically radiates off of Chloe. "It's the big football game against Milton High. Every year, Barden and Milton use the proceeds from ticket sales and concessions to fund scholarships for seniors at the schools. All of the students come out, alumni from both schools are there… there's a half time show, and the winning team gets a trophy at the end. It's kind of a big deal."

Beca's eyebrows raise, grimacing slightly. Not only is she not a fan of football, but the whole thing sounds like a bit... much. "Yikes."

Chloe scoffs, narrowing her eyes in Beca's direction, but not being able to stop herself from laughing at Beca's reaction. "Oh stop, it's a lot of fun."

Stacie turns from her position in between her two friends, glancing around Chloe so that she can see Beca. "You have to come. It's Barden tradition and you're a senior. There's practically no excuse."

Beca can think up a million excuses – starting with the fact that Sunday is both her and CR's day off from Fig's so there would be no one to watch Macy and ending with how watching twenty-plus high school boys slamming into each other just doesn't seem like a fun way to spend her afternoon. Instead of sharing those excuses, though, Beca just says, "I don't know… it just seems kind of lame."

You would've thought Beca had slapped Aubrey by the way shock covers her face. "It is not lame, Beca. It's actually really cool to see the entire community come together." Aubrey shakes her head, trying to get Beca's statement from her mind. "Anyways, should we get to the field for one-thirty? I can drive."

Both Stacie and Chloe nod in agreement, but Beca stays silent, something that doesn't go unnoticed by anyone at the table. Before anyone can say anything, though, the bell resounds through the cafeteria, dismissing everyone to their next class.

As the group stands, Aubrey and Stacie already discussing outfits and plans for after the game, Chloe hangs back while Beca gathers her trash. The redhead gently bumps her shoulder against her new friend as they walk to the garbage bin. "You really should come. It's a lot of fun, even if you don't like football."

Tossing her trash into the bin, Beca avoids meeting the redhead's eyes, but knows full well that she isn't going to drop it unless Beca gives her a valid excuse. "I can't. I have to watch my sister."

Chloe's response comes without any hesitation. "So? Bring her. A lot of middle schoolers come, too. It'll be fun."

"Really?" Beca's eyebrow quirks upwards, finally gaining the courage to turn and face Chloe. "You guys would be cool having a twelve-year-old tag along?"

"Of course!" They merge with the rest of the students going in the direction of their sixth period class. "We want you to come, Beca. It wouldn't be the same without you."

Heat rushes to Beca's cheeks under Chloe's gaze. She reaches up a hand to scratch at the nape of her neck, running through scenario after scenario in her mind, but coming up empty handed in terms of finding another excuse not to go. Her and Macy deserve a little fun, right? "Okay. We'll be there."

Chloe practically jumps up and down. "Yay! You won't regret it. I promise."

Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think :)