A/N: I have to say I am so sorry this took so long to get out. I haven't had much motivation to write and I wasn't happy with my first couple tries. Too be honest this is nothing like I originally planned.
Hopefully you like it.
As always, I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of the characters, but I do love them.
CHAPTER 14
***Jessie Tries ***
"Damnit," mumbles Beca in exasperation.
Why is this so hard?
Beca scratches the back of her head as she continues to stare at her computer screen.
The music is right there. I seriously can hear it in my mind. Why can't I translate it onto my laptop?
Listening to a refrain that now that she placed it, just doesn't sound right, feels out of place. In exasperation the tiny DJ hits stop; stabbing the sensor pad with more force than necessary. With a sigh she leans back in her chair, annoyance clearly etched into her features. Hoping beyond hope, Beca looks up at the ceiling; expelling all the air in her lungs, listening to the silly sound her lips make as she blows out.
I blame Jesse…
I blame Chlo…
Beca shakes her head, not sure if she's shaking her head at her situation, or at the lack of ideas popping off her screen. Again more irritated than with any real thought out process, Beca moves her cursor to a new sound file and hits play, not really listening to the guitar chords coming through her headphones.
No, it's not Chloe's fault; it's definitely Jesse's.
She sighs, not sure if that's fair, but she can't help it. She hits stop again, on automatic, having not heard a single sound.
Why isn't Chlo here? I need her here…
Her eyes fall on one of the thousands of sticky notes the redhead has left in her room over the years. This one is telling her to have a GREAT day and how proud she is for Beca getting the gig at Club Exchange. The redhead of course had drawn hearts all around it in typical Chloe Beale fashion.
Then again she's always here.
Beca chooses another file, this time she's listening to some piano tracks she laid down a few weeks before.
That's close to what I've wanted, but not quite there. I need Chlo to come and listen...
No I don't…
Maybe…
Get it together Mitchell!
Running her finger over the sensor pad, Beca adjusts the speed of the music she's listening to, attempting to see if upping the tempo will meet what she's looking for.
Ugh… This sounds like crap. I need something different for my opening…
Beca lets out a frustrated groan as she clicks stop on the current instrumental she's listening to. She wants a background sound to thread through her first set of songs, but she hasn't found the right thread yet.
Though I'm not even sure what songs I want to play in the opening set… Where's Chloe? Bet she has some ideas...
After the ice cream was finished and the story of the not-quite-so-romantic getaway was told, Chloe had gathered up the empty ice cream cartons and spoons, and left, giving Beca some space. The redhead had sensed that there was more to her favorite DJ's story, but also knew that Beca wasn't ready to share any more at this time. Chloe had listened intently, accepting what Beca was ready to divulge, then acknowledged when Beca didn't want to say anything more on the matter.
Her redheaded best friend had made an excuse about needing to get some work done for her final week of school, and let herself out. In doing so, Chloe had let her friend have her needed space, without making Beca feel she was shutting herself off. Beca Mitchell had been closed off for most of her life, between family circumstances and her natural personality, it's just how she was. Yet she's tried really hard to move past this part of her personality, to not shut herself off when things get tough, or personal.
Things can be so much simpler though…
What if I mix in this here?
Closing her eyes, Beca listens to the song, and tries to hear the music she's been formulating in her head.
Damn that sounds like crap…
It's not how she thinks it should be. She drops her chin to her chest in frustration.
Ugh… will nothing work right today?
After nearly two hours of sitting at her desk, and all the DJ has to show for it is three mixes. Three! None of which are good enough to be in the opening; they're fillers at best.
Damn Jesse! Damn Chl… Better to not finish that. That damn girl probably reads minds!
You can't read minds, right Chloe? If you can I'm totally Jonesing for Chinese…
Anything?
No?
Well worth a shot...
Ironically, it's her relationships with Chloe and Jesse that have given Beca the confidence to lower the walls she naturally built up. Where as Beca had always held everyone at arm's length, these two had refused to be kept away. Jesse with his patience, caring, and continuous love. Chloe with her disregard for personal barriers, persistence, and genuine love for everyone.
Yet the balance these two brought to Beca's life for the past five plus years is out of whack now. The equilibrium of Barden didn't translate to California. Outside factors are pushing Beca to make decisions she doesn't want to face.
Now Beca is alone in her room, she's working on her laptop, well more like trying to work. Being alone with her laptop used to be her comfort space, where she could go to feel safe. Yet now as she's attempting to put the final touches of her mixes for her next gig at Club Exchange, she feels the isolation, and her muse is absent.
Time is moving painstakingly slow. With Chloe having left her room, Beca feels a distinct emptiness next to her. At the same time she thinks it might be best to have this space; she keeps replaying her arguments with Jesse over and over. She thinks about what he said, what she said, and what she should have said.
It's frustrating, yet she concedes he has a few points. She has been a bit distant with him, she has spent more time with Chloe lately, and she could be a better girlfriend; but it's felt so easy, so right to be with Chloe.
Sitting back in frustration Beca pulls her headset off in disgust and runs her hand through her hair.
Why can't it be as easy with Jesse? What does it say that I felt a sense of relief when I got home to Chlo?
That Chloe had come to Beca with ice cream to make sure her best friend was okay, was just one more reminder of why coming home to Chloe is such a relief for Beca. Yet it's also another reason she feels guilty.
Jesse may not be perfect, but he's a really great guy, with a truly generous heart. He's sweet and kind and he always looks out for me...
He's really good looking, with his boyish grin and warm brown eyes. Jesse can be an amazingly supportive boyfriend…
So why am I always comparing him to Chloe?
Now Chloe's giving Beca her space, and the DJ is torn. She's grateful her friend is using her need to work on some final grades for her students, and the need to develop a proposal for next year's curriculum as an excuse to leave, but at the same time Beca wishes the bubbly redhead was working on her bed right now. It may be true that Chloe has the work, but she and Chloe often work in the same room; usually work in the same room. So Beca knows having to develop a curriculum isn't the reason her favorite redhead has retreated to her own room.
So I don't know if this is what I want, but it must be what Chlo thinks I need.
Chloe may be someone who challenges personal boundaries, especially Beca's, but she's also quite skilled at reading the needs of people, and she can give a person space if that's what's needed. In this case Beca knows Chloe had sensed her need for some alone time, and so had given her that space.
Chloe's secret superpower!
Caring woman!
Caring woman...
Beca can't help the smile that ghost's across her lips as memories flash from the past five years. Caring woman had been Chloe's role for as long as Beca had known the redhead, whether it was with the Bellas, or the select others who were dear to Chloe.
This is what Jesse doesn't get or doesn't want to get. By taking the role she did, Chloe allowed me to shine as captain of the Bellas. I wouldn't have been as successful if not for her taking the role she did. She made sure the bills were paid, the schedule was set, that the team came together, that all the Bellas were cared for. Oh my GOD! Chloe performed the same role with AUBREY!
The petite DJ wasn't so obtuse to never have recognized that Chloe didn't get enough credit for the success of the Bellas. Jesse's words from the night before only proved that. But at this moment she begins to realize how maybe even she too hasn't given her best friend enough credit.
Wait, was I the Aubrey? No… I was never like Aubrey… Though I did kind of check-out the last year… Maybe that means I was the opposite of the Aca-Nazi… Funny how each needed Chloe to keep us going...
More memories begin to flood Beca and she can't help but smile. No one could watch the memories of her life with Chloe and not smile and laugh, so Beca smiles and chuckles as she lets her head fall back and stare up at the ceiling. In her head Beca sees her redheaded friend over the years doing what Chloe does. Thoughts go back to Beca's freshman year, where Chloe had often made a point to visit one of the Bellas if they had had a particularly difficult practice, or received extra attention from the aca-nazi.
How many times did Chloe drag me along to deliver ice cream or cookies to a friend in need of a pick-me-up. How many mocha frappes, or hot chocolates did she hand over at Chloe's urging?
Beca couldn't count the number of times Chloe had visited one of the girls over the years when they were just having one of those hard times that every student goes through at some point in their collegiate career. How many times had Chloe held an UnBirthday at the Bellas' House because a breakup had gone bad, or a midterm had been extra hard, or one of the Bellas just needed a pick-me-up? Because of course when the Bellas moved into the Bellas House, Chloe really had become the House Mom for them all. Beca was sure that the house was a major reason Chloe had stayed at Barden.
If she had had the opportunity to live in the House the years before, Chloe would probably have aced Russian Literature and moved on. Guess I was kinda lucky she wanted to be the Bellas House Mom soooo bad...
Heaven help you though if you ever called her Mom though...
This thought triggers memories of Bellas accidentally calling Chloe 'Mom' to her face; none funnier or as chilling as Fat Amy's misstep. The face of the ever bombastic blonde when she found all of her cloths hanging in the tree was priceless; it still makes Beca giggle, and probably will till the day she dies.
It had happened when the boisterous Australian had let slip she'd been leaving her dirty cloths in a spot that she knew Chloe would find and take care of. Beca's pretty sure Amy would have gotten off with a stern admonishment, but Fat Amy had pushed it and called The angry redhead, Mom. Fat Amy had missed the cool look the typically bubbly redhead had given her as she left, but that was one memory that still gives Beca chills. No one should ever mess with Chloe, if they know what's good for them.
It later turned out that Amy had left for a hookup with Bumper, and so had been gone for a couple hours. Chloe had made sure she knew when Fat Amy was returning, and had used some pretext to make sure all the Bellas were standing outside when the blonde Australian had returned. They were therefore on-hand to catch Fat Amy's incredulous look as she realized all her clothes were dripping wet, having just been "washed" and hung out to dry by the 'House Mom'.
Chloe had to have Lilly's help to get all of Amy's clothes, soak them, and then get them hung in the tree. That was seriously a lot of very colorful panties blowing in the top branches. I think there are still a couple up there...
Yes there are many more memories like this of her time with Chloe, it's actually rather amazing how scary the redhead can be, when she wants to be. But for every one of those times there are ten of the redhead taking comfort food to a friend in need, and fifty of her giving hugs or a shoulder to cry on when that was what was called for, and a couple thousand of her offering a smile just to make someone's day.
Especially mine...
Beca recognize this, she really does, she recognizes all Chloe does and who she is; she just sometimes takes it for granted.
I must stop doing that. Chlo deserves more than that.
Beca is really glad though there are others starting to see what Chloe has to offer too. There visit with Mrs. O'Shaughnessy was evidence of this. Beca saw how much Mrs. O'Shaughnessy cares for Chloe. Beca's also pretty sure that the administration at the school are also recognizing the gift they got when Chloe Beale came to work for them. She believes it's one of the reasons why Chloe has been asked to put together a curriculum for next year.
A smile touches Beca's lips as she thinks about the progress Chloe's making with her dreams, and of how proud she is of her favorite redhead.
Jesse doesn't know what he's talking about. Chloe's not glomming on my dreams, she's got her own. She's HELPING me, but that's because we are great friends.
Sighing in frustration, Beca gets up from her desk, and brings her laptop to her bed. She's definitely running on empty, having not slept well the night before, and then the trip home, it's left her feeling worn. So rather than mixing, she decides to just listen to music, hoping to lose herself in some songs. Settling back, the tiny DJ places her oversized headphones back on, resting them comfortably over her ears. The music is at a pretty good level, one her father would definitely admonish her about. She sighs settling back just trying to get comfortable. She sinks back, letting the music wash over her. Trying to find her peace, usually found in the refuge of escape proves elusive, as Beca finds herself considering what Jesse said about Chloe dominating her time. She does spend more time with her roommate, but Beca shrugs that off.
I mean of course we spend a lot of time together. We're roommates for God's sake! Of course we talk! Though it does help that it's so effortless when we talk.
The current song isn't doing it for Beca, and decides she needs to change the music.
Thing is that hyperactive weirdo has always believed in me and had my back..,
On autopilot Beca moves her finger lightly across the sensor pad, guiding the arrow across the screen till it it lands on a new folder. She automatically opens the folder not paying attention to its name, and picks the first song on the list. She again settles back against her headboard as the opening lines of 'I Need Your Love' by Ellie Goulding starts playing.
Yet listening to this music makes no difference, Chloe and Jesse are still on her mind. She still finds herself in the midst of conflicting emotions as she listens to the song 'Something' by Lasgo. She finds herself missing the redhead's company, and her beautiful warming smile. She finds herself needing space, and wanting to take Jesse's admonishment to heart.
I should make more time for Jesse… I am in love with Jesse Swanson…
I wonder if Chlo is still working on her curriculum proposal...
Each song reminds the DJ of her best friend, which is not helping to clear her head. Beca isn't really sure how long she's been staring blankly at the wall, or how many songs have played, yet each one has made her think more about Chloe.
At the start of another song, Beca looks over to the computer screen to see what folder she's pulling music from. She rolls her eyes as she realizes that she had opened her Chloe file. A file she started over five years ago, not long after a life changing shower, where she places songs and mixes that remind her of Chloe, or she thinks Chloe will like.
Seriously not helping! I should just try working again...
Getting up off the bed she again moves back to her desk. breathed out a heavy sigh and ran her hands through her hair as she takes a seat.
She is contemplating asking Chloe if she wants to work in here with her, when she hears her phone vibrating.
With a sigh Beca picks up the phone, knowing who it will be. A quick glance confirms it's Jesse texting her. For a fleeting moment she contemplates deleting his message, but just leaves it unread for now. Beca just doesn't have the energy right now to deal with Jesse.
Beca cues up a new track, still trying to find the right combination for her Thursday night opening. She feels her phone vibrate in her pocket again and pulls it out. It's Jesse calling… again. She sighs as she hits 'ignore' once again.
Jesse's persistent texts had become a little too much for Beca- prompting her to simply turn off her mobile and leaves it on her night stand.
Why doesn't Jesse get that I want space… He fucked up, he needs to give me space…
[*+*X*+*X*+*X*+*]
"Knock, knock…" says Chloe as she looks into Beca's room.
Guess she's trying to work… Maybe I should leave her to it… Nahhh….
She leans against the doorframe as she observes her Tiny DJ sitting at her desk with her ever present oversized headphones resting over her ears. Chloe can't help but be amused as she watches the petite brunette bobbing her head, and humming to the music she's playing.
Probably listening to some of her newer mixes... Wonder which one? I'll have to see if she has anything for my car collection...
The redhead smiles to herself and clears her throat to get her friend's attention, still to no avail. She decides she better come all the way into Beca's room, unless she wants to be accused of being a creeper.
I mean I AM a creeper, at least when it comes to Becs...
She moves into the room and waves, "Hey, I ordered Chinese."
Beca doesn't respond, so focused on her laptop, headphones pulled securely over her ears.
Chloe continues to saunter, making her way over to the edge of the bed, and flops down dramatically. This motion is enough to finally catch Beca's attention. Her eyes flick up from her screen and catch sight of Chloe. Beca smiles as Chloe waves again, the redhead makes a show of getting her friend's attention, causing the petite brunette to chuckle, while subtly shaking her head at the older girl's antics.
The DJ pulls her headphones down, letting them hang around her neck, and heaves a heavy sigh, "What time is it? I'm starving; do you want to order Chinese, or something ?"
Chloe flashes her megawatt grin, "Yeah, that's a great idea, Chinese would be aca-awesome." She points towards Beca's earphones. "So, what're you working on?"
Beca shrugs, "Well I've been trying to put together the mix I'm going to open with at my next Club Exchange gig."
"How's it going?"
With a slight shake of her head, Beca absentmindedly starts fiddling with her laptop. "It hasn't. That's the problem, nothing's working, so I'm just listening to the mixes I have put together for use later in the night. You know, trying to find inspiration."
"Ahhh, no inspiration? You should have come to me. If I'm anything, I'm inspirational…" Chloe emphasizes the last with a wink.
Beca can't help but gulp. Shaking her head, the DJ says flatly, "It's not been working."
"You're so totes-adorable when you're frustrated like this," chuckles Chloe.
"Am not!" Beca pouts, pointing at herself, she states, "Badass."
So adorable...
Chloe grins and gives an exaggerated serious face. "Yeah you are."
"Am too!"
Only gets more adorable...
"Uh huh," Chloe continues to nod.
"Whatever! You wanna hear?"
Of course...
Chloe nods, her entire face lights up with a smile, "Is this you coming to me for inspiration?" She asks with such the innocent smile as she makes her way over to Beca's desk.
"Don't push it red…"
Chloe's smile is all innocence and syrupy sweet. "But that's what I do Beca…"
"Ugh," Beca groans. "Do you want to listen or not?" Asks Beca, even as she holds up her headphones.
"Of course," Chloe claps her hands and beams before accepting the earphones, slipping them over her ears as Beca hits play. A few seconds pass and soon Chloe's nodding her head, humming along. A few more seconds and her hips are swinging to the beat. "Ellie Goulding, I like." It takes only thirty more seconds for Chloe to open her eyes and say, "It's good-it's really good."
"Yeah, but not great," replies Beca with a sigh. "I need great for the opening."
"So what are you looking for?"
The DJ shrugs, "Uhh, something great…"
"Well that certainly clears everything up…"
"I mean… that's just the thing, I'm not sure…"
"Hey I get it. So answer me this, what is it you want the audience to feel on Thursday?"
"Well fun of course…"
"Of course."
"... and I want them to escape whatever may be bringing them down, or causing confusion…"
"Oh I like that. Everyone needs an escape from reality, a bit of fantasy." The redhead gives a very flirty smile, and wink.
"In your dreams Beale," states Beca trying to cover her blush.
Always...
The redhead smirks, "Definitely in my dreams, Becs." Chloe's unsure where this confidence is coming from, but figures best just to go with it.
Beca furrows her brow, "Dreams…" it's a whisper then she repeats it a little louder. She snaps her fingers and quickly turns to her laptop.
The redhead shakes her head with a small grin, watching with complete and utter adoration as her best friend brings up a new folder of mixes.
I love it when she finds inspiration. The look is soooo... Beca...
Chloe can see that her best friend has gone into her 'Ongoing' file, with music the DJ's worked on in the past but hasn't finished yet. She scrolls over the hundreds of songs and mixes, till she finds the right one and clicks on it. She pulls the plug on the headphones so they both can hear as she hits play. "I was working on this a couple months ago but had forgotten it."
Over the speakers comes the sound of a steady electronic percussion beat. Chloe asks, "What's this?"
Beca smiles, "I used Cosmic Gates' 'Exploration of Space' as a background beat, and then overlaid it with an electric guitar and bass." Beca holds up her finger, and Chloe can see the DJ counting down in her head. With a smile she points to the speaker as soft feminine voice begins to sing.
Come into my dream
Let me show you where I've been
It's you and me I've seen
Let me tell you what I mean
"Nice Becs! Foggy's 'Come Into My Dreams'. I like."
Heaven is mine, seems I've been losing my time Come into my dream
Let me show you where I've been
"Actually it's Pinball's 'Come Into My Dreams'. I like the expanded lyrics."
Angels whisper,
something unreal,
They put me up to a place of heal,
"You remixed it! I love the longer introduction. It really sets the mood. It grabs you..." Chloe can't help but smile as she begins to swing her hips and sway with the beat. She looks Beca directly in the eyes and says with a flirtatious lilt, "It really builds."
Beca nods and agrees "Uhhuh," automatically before she really registers what she's agreeing with. Her face flushes as her eyes grow wide. "I mean… Uhh, umm."
"You always know what I like Beca."
"Umm yeah…"
Now halfway through the initial song, Beca has mixed in a second song; it's a remix of 'Heaven'. The transition is seamlessly mixed in, and Chloe loves how the lyrics flow so smoothly.
Baby, you're all that I want.
When you're lyin' here in my arms,
I'm findin' it hard to believe,
We're in heaven,
It takes a second but it suddenly dawns on Chloe what she's hearing. "Wait?! Is that you singing?"
In the deep blue sky,
There were rainbows in the night,
You and me could fly,
And the ocean shined so bright,
Beca smiles, loving the fact that Chloe picked out her voice immediately. "Uhh yeah, it's…"
And love is all that I need,
And I found it there in your heart,
It isn't too hard to see,
We're in heaven,
"You singing Bryan Adam's 'Heaven'." Chloe's pride in her talented best friend shines through.
Angels whisper,
something unreal,
We're in heaven,
Beca doesn't need any other confirmation that the mix is good, just that smile, it really says everything; still it's nice to hear Chloe say, "This is really good. Scratch that, it's aca-amazing!"
Come into my dream,
Let me show you where I've been,
Once in your life you find someone,
Who will turn your world around,
Come into my dream,
""When?"
Now our dreams are comin' true,
Heaven is mine, seems I've been losing my time,
You're all that I want,
Come into my dream
You're all that I want,
Come into my dream
"Did I sing 'Heaven'?" Chloe nods. "A DJ in Atlanta hired JM to come up with a dance version, and JM asked me to create a demo. Since this was just the demo, I did the vocals…"
"It's ACA-AMAZING!" WHY HAVE I NOT HEARD THIS BEFORE!?" Chloe can't help but scream.
"Which? This remix, or my cover of Heaven?"
Chloe gives her best friend a look that says 'you're kidding right?' She gives a definitive answer, "Both of course!"
"Uhh, well, me singing 'Heaven' took place while you were moving, and you were super busy, and it's no big deal, no one but JM and the DJ heard it, though JM did say I could keep it and use it…"
Chloe crosses her arms, and Beca gets the distinct impression this is the stance Ms Beale, teacher extraordinaire takes when admonishing a wayward student. The redhead huffs, "Still I should have heard it. New rule, I get a copy of every, and I mean every single song with Beca Mitchell vocals. That means covers, originals, backup, heck if you even just hum the melody while banging a tambourine, I want it."
Beca can only nod, "Okay."
Chloe goes from stern to all smiles again, as if her admonishment had never happened. It has always amazed Beca how fast Chloe can change her tone. An unwary person could get whiplash if they aren't paying attention. Luckily Chloe always seems to end on happy joyful, which is where the redhead is right now. She smirks at Beca, and says with self-satisfaction, "By the way you're welcome…"
Beca looks at her confused. "Welcome?"
Chloe gives her a knowing look. "You have your opening for Thursday. The rest of the set will build off of it."
Beca thinks about this, plays the song in her head, and suddenly her music library in her mind is open for business. More and more combinations begin to form in her mind, and Beca's face lights up with a heartfelt smile. "Thanks Chlo."
Chloe smiles at Beca, still nodding to the beat. "You're gonna have to send both of these to me so I can add them to my traffic jams."
Beca smiles back, something about the way Chloe's eyes light up when she hears Beca's work, is just the greatest feeling, and makes her day.
A knock at the front door interrupts them. Beca looks up, eyes furrowed. "Who's that?"
Chloe jumps up, smiling ear to ear. "That would be the Chinese food."
The petite brunette is confused. "Chinese? Food? Wait, what, when?"
Chloe gives her friend a look. "You wanted Chinese…"
"But when did you order?"
"Just before I came in to see you." Chloe's not sure why Beca seems to go pale. "Are you okay?" Chloe gives her friend a concerned look, "You look like you've seen a ghost?"
Beca waves her off, and when Chloe arches an eyebrow, she mumbles something about being really hungry.
Chloe smiles and then runs to the door; opening it to reveal Chinese delivery man. She flashes a huge smile at the man, "Hey Qui, how are you doing today?"
The young delivery guy answers with a chuckle, "Great, I take it your DJ's needing some cheering up?"
Chloe shakes her head, "Nah, she just loves Chinese food, and you guys have the best, so I thought I would treat."
The young man smirks as he hands over the bags of food. "Uh yeah, so are the flowers for you then?" He glances down as he asks.
Taking the the bags of food , Chloe looks down and notices three bouquets of red and white roses, each in a nice crystal vase. Perplexed the redhead shrugs, "Huh, I wonder where they came from,"
"Here let me get them," says Qui as he bends down and picks up the three vases.
Chloe looks at the bags of food, and contemplates how she can handle this. She slips the handles of the plastic bags over her wrists, and then holds out her hands. "Thank you so much Qui," says Chloe as the young man carefully hands the three vases to her.
"You sure you don't want me to bring them in?"
"Nah, I think I got this." As the young redhead cautiously balances the two bags of Chinese food and the three vases. As she carries them to the kitchen, she spies a card with Beca printed on it.
[*+*X*+*X*+*X*+*]
Beca has to smile despite herself, Chloe is nothing if not sweet and adorable and you can't help but liking her.
Still, how did she know about me wanting Chinese food?
She makes a couple quick notes, and turns off her music, content that she now has her opening, and heads for the kitchen. Now that there's food available, she realizes she is actually pretty hungry.
Chloe always knows.
Walking briskly, Beca slows as she notices all the roses that Chloe's carrying, "Where'd you get the flowers?"
"They were sitting by the door."
Confused, Beca glances between the roses and Chloe while asking, "Who gave them to you?"
Chloe shrugs, "They're not for me; they're for you."
"For me?"
"There's a card with your name that goes with them." Chloe extends her hand, with a small red envelope.
Umm… Jesse?
Beca accepts the small envelope rather tentatively, she's never been one for getting flowers.
It's just too cliche...
The petite brunette examines the envelope for a second or two, contemplating it. She can feel her best friend's eyes on her, and knows that the ginger is just dying to know what the card says. She looks over at Chloe and gives her a smirk. Chloe's eyes show her pleading, and she practically whines. The brunette gives a wink, and begins to open the envelope, and withdraws the small card, holding it up to read it,
So, so, so very sorry.
You definitely deserved so much more.
You deserve all that is grand and great
Love you dearly and always will.
Your one true love
Jesse
Beca makes a face that Chloe actually finds amusing. The DJ shakes her head, it's too sappy for her.
"It's an interesting choice." Says the redhead as she sets them on the counter.
Beca steps up next to her friend and asks, "What's that mean?"
Chloe shrugs, "You've never been a roses type of girl." She begins to arrange the flowers so the bouquet is balanced and fresh looking.
Beca smirks at the roses, "I think these are more of a… 'Sorry I was a dick again' flowers."
"Still, I'm surprised…"
Beca arches her eyebrow, "Why?"
Chloe shrugs again, "It's just that Jesse's much more creative than just sending roses."
There's a knock at the door that interrupts the conversation. Beca goes to answer it as Chloe moves the bouquet over to the dining table. Opening the door Beca's shocked at the sheer size of the bouquet there waiting for her. It's a much larger bouquet than the ones Chloe had just brought to the kitchen. The petite brunette can only stand there, blinking rapidly, her muscles actually straining under the weight of the bouquet just handed to her. This one isn't the simple red and white bouquet of roses the earlier ones had been. This one is massive, containing red roses, white roses, pink orchids, and two other types of flowers Beca recognizes but doesn't know the name of.
She sheepishly carries the huge bouquet to the kitchen to a very surprised Chloe.
"You got more?"
"Yeah…"
"Wow," Chloe does a quick count of the first delivery, "looks like each of these is twenty-four roses, that's seventy-two roses. Now you have that ginormous bouquet. Jesse must be feeling pretty bad, that's a hell of a lot of flowers."
"According to this card, he is." Beca holding up another card. This one is larger than the first and came with the humongous bouquet.
I shouldn't have said what I did,
I shouldn't have acted as I did,
My emotions got the better of me,
And I lost sight of what's truly important to me,
You.
You are all that's important to me,
You're my love, my life, my happiness,
Please forgive me, and know you're all I hold dear,
Jesse
"Wow Becs, he really is sorry."
Another knock catches the girls by surprise. Chloe goes to the door this time and is handed another two bouquets of red and white roses. "Make that forty-eight more." She says as she delivers them to their kitchen.
"Are you kidding me?"
Chloe smiles sheepishly, "And I think I saw another delivery man approaching…"
"No way." Says Beca as she heads for the door. The DJ is determined to stop this silliness, and reject anymore flowers. Throwing open the door just before the delivery man can knock she is promptly presented with two bouquets. Beca finds herself at a loss for words, flabbergasted to see three more delivery people coming towards her, each carrying two bouquets, each bouquet exactly like the ones Chloe originally brought.
Beca looks lost as she carries the bouquets she has into their living room. Chloe directs the additional delivery people to follow her into the kitchen and dining area.
"Thank god Jesse sprung for vases. Not sure where we would put these." Says Chloe as she comes back into the living room, after showing the delivery people out, but not before accepting another three vases of the red and white roses. Beca can only watch slack-jawed as Chloe sets a vase on the end table and then two on the coffee table.
Beca pulls out her iPhone to call Jesse when there is another unexpected knock at their door.
Beca rolls her eyes, so Chloe offers to get it. "No," replies Beca, "I'll get it. Maybe it's Jesse, though if he has more roses, I'm slamming the door."
She nearly cries as two delivery people, a man and a woman each hand her bouquets of red and white roses. "What is this? War of the Roses?"
"Maybe Jesse's secretly punishing you?"
"You think?"
"No you big goof. He is totally trying to apologize in a grand gesture."
Before Beca can say anything back there's another knock at the door. "What the FUCK! Please be Jesse, so I can kill him."
"It's okay Becs," says Chloe as she raises her hand signaling for her friend to calm down. Opening the door Chloe isn't surprised to be handed another two bouquets.
"No, absolutely not, tell them to take them back."
Chloe shakes her head as another delivery woman shows up with another two bouquets. "I don't think we can do that Becs." She gestures to the delivery woman who looks at the number of bouquets in amazement. "Just place those over there on that bench."
Beca just shakes her head. "What are we going to do with all of these?"
"Well first we're going to set these aside," Chloe says as she places the two vases she's holding on the floor in front of the television. "Then we're going to eat dinner before it gets cold."
"I don't know if that's going to work," says Beca as there's another knock at the door.
"I got this," Chloe says as the diminutive brunette begins a rather colorful tirade about movie nerds and grand gestures.
Chloe grabs up her school bag and takes out her notepad as she approaches the door. This time instead of a delivery man, there's two each holding two vases of red and white roses. The redhead smiles warmly as she thanks the men and asks them to place the vases on the floor inside the entryway along the wall. At the same time she is drawing up a sign that she tapes to the front door.
"There, that should give us a moment's peace; so we can eat."
"What did you do?"
"Just put up a sign which asks for all deliveries to be left at the door," says Chloe as she grabs Beca's hand and leads her to the kitchen. "Let's eat, before the food gets cold."
Beca allows herself to be led to the kitchen. The perplexed brunette can't help but whine, "What is that weirdo doing?"
"I honestly don't know Becs, this reminds me of a cheesy movie I once saw…"
"It Is one of his cheesy movie moves," groans Beca as she surveys the five bouquets dominating their dining table, the additional three on the counter.
Chloe giggles as she grabs the bags of food and then a bottle of wine from the fridge. "Grab a couple of glasses, would you Beca," says the redhead as she grabs napkins and some utensils.
The shell shocked brunette "What are you doing?"
"Grab the wine glasses. You and I are having a picnic in my room."
Beca can only stare at her best friend for a heartbeat or more, before does as she was bade, grabbing two wine glasses, cursing as she has to reach around and between two floral arrangements, and then follows Chloe to the redhead's room.
Chloe has by then pulled out a sheet and a towel, which have been placed on the floor, the towel on top. She gestures for Beca to take a seat on the sheet, then begins to arrange the food.
As Beca takes a seat she asks,"Why are we eating here?" She sweeps her hand indicating the sheets and towel and the boxes of Chinese food spread between them.
Chloe flashes one of her patented 'I've got this' smiles as she takes the glasses from Beca, and gives the girl a spring roll. "We're having a picnic."
"A picnic?"
"Yeah, a picnic." The redhead's smile grows, but as she takes in her best friend's incredulity, she sighs, "We obviously can't eat at the dining table or the coffee table, and the apartment is beginning to smell like a greenhouse, so I thought we should make the best of it," she pauses to open the bottle of wine. "Have a nice quiet picnic in here." Pouring a generous glass for her best friend, Chloe hands it over and smiles as Beca downs it in one gulp.
Chloe smiles, "Easy there tiger…"
Beca holds out her glass, "I seriously need this Chlo." Chloe arches an eyebrow and Beca says, "Please Chloeee."
The redhead pours more, she can never deny her Tiny DJ, especially when she pouts. She then starts dishing from the small cartons onto a plate, generous portions of Pepper Steak, Mongolian Beef, and Sweet and Sour Pork, on top of Fried Rice. Once she feels she's put enough on the plate, Chloe hands it over to a very eager Beca, who's playing with a pair of chopsticks. Chloe gestures for Beca to dig in as she serves herself.
For the next few minutes the Chinese food is consumed in a comfortable silence, each girl savouring their particular favorite, Chloe's being the Sweet and Sour Pork, Beca's the Mongolian Beef, though Beca's fiddling with her chopsticks has kept her from really eating.
Chloe giggles at her best friend's attempts at using chopsticks to eat. "You may actually starve trying to use those." She points at the slender sticks with her own. "You're never going to eat enough if you keep trying to use chopsticks."
"I can use chopsticks just fine Chlo," snarks Beca as she tries to lift a bite of Mongolian Beef to her mouth; which of course falls back onto her plate.
"Yeah, I can see that," giggles Chloe.
Beca scowls and reaches out and skewers an egg roll with one of her chopsticks. "Can too!" She says triumphantly as she lifts the egg roll up for Chloe to see before she takes a bite.
"I stand corrected."
"Damn straight."
The two fall into silence again, each really enjoying the taste of their meal, though it doesn't stop either of from stealing a bite or two from the others.
"I may have, possibly, sort of, accidentally ordered way too much food. I think we're set for leftovers…"
"Till Emily gets here. That girl can give Amy a run for the money when it comes to eating," says Beca with a chuckle.
"Yeah, who would have guessed Legacy could out eat you?"
"Hey!"
Again a man easy silence falls over the two, but Chloe really wants to know what Beca's thinking. When she feels enough time has passed she asks tentatively, "So…"
Beca plays dumb. "So…?"
The ginger understands this but pushes forward. "Well, we have a couple hundred roses out there."
Beca drops her head. "What am I going to do?"
"Start your own floral shop?"
"Thanks…"
"Enter a float in the New Year's Day Rose Parade- wait that's actually a cool idea, we could have the Bellas on it, and sing…"
"Not helping Beale…"
"It could totally be a tribute to A Cappella…"
"Chloe…"
"We could have matching costumes, and sing all the mixes we won with…"
"Chlo!"
"Oh-sorry…"
"It's okay…"
"Still a great idea…"
"Still not going to happ… are you pouting? No, no, no - you can't pout Chlo… that's not fair! Did your eyes actually get bigger? Hey how are they doing that? No, I mean be practical… it's… okay someday we'll get a tribute to A Cappella float into the Rose Bowl parade… just not this year…"
Chloe huffs, "Fine, I'm holding you to that."
Beca can only roll her eyes. She can't believe what she just agreed to, and deep in her heart and soul she knows the ginger will hold her to it.
Taking another bite of Mongolian Beef, well half bite, as most drops from her chopsticks, Beca mumbles, "Still not sure what I'm doing with all those roses."
Chloe shrugs, "Guess I'm still surprised. I mean I get the big gesture, though he may have gone a little overboard…"
Beca rolls her eyes, "You think?"
"... but roses aren't even your favorite flower…"
"Nope, orchids are."
"... Wouldn't it still have been special to fill our apartment with orchids?"
"Yeah I think so, though Jesse's always felt that giving an orchid just doesn't convey his true feelings."
"I still think this reminds me of a movie plot." Chloe pulls out her iPhone and types into the Safari. A quick search proves fruitful. "Here it is, 'Bed of Roses' with Christian Slater and Mary Stuart Masterson."
"Never saw it."
"There's a surprise…"
"Rude…"
Chloe scrunches her face, trying to remember. "I think I did once, maybe on TNT or TBS. You know on one of those Saturday afternoons where the weather keeps you in, and you have nothing better to do. It was, sweet, you wouldn't have liked it."
"Thanks…" Beca snarks.
"Just keeping it real…" Chloe sticks out her tongue. Beca responds in kind. Chloe then asks, "How many roses do you think he bought?"
Beca shrugs, "I really have no idea. Who does this?"
It's Chloe turn to shrug, "Jesse I guess. How did he do this? It's no small feat. Not to mention a small fortune out there."
"Uhh yeah, he doesn't like flashing it, but Jesse and his family have a bit of money." Beca looks a bit embarrassed. "They're loaded."
"Really? I'm surprised. They always seem kinda middle class," the redhead frowns, knowing that she sounded rather snooty. "I mean, not that this is bad, it's just they don't flash wealth."
Beca shakes her head, "No, you're right. They're pretty frugal. Jesse's grandfather built a small tool and die business, Jesse's dad took it over and grew it into a pretty successful firm. Jesse's older brother Jonathan is going to run it some day. Jesse always jokes that he's lucky he's the youngest, all of the perks, none of the responsibility to keep the family business going. He gets a monthly stipend, plus his parents helped him get his condo. That's why Jesse never had to get a job all through school and up to this point."
"Well that's good. I would hate to see the credit card bill for this gesture."
Beca's eyes widen, "Oh my god! Can you imagine?"
"So, what are you going to do?"
Beca pulls out her iPhone. "I should see what he has to say. He's been texting for a couple hours,"
Chloe giggles, "Maybe he was trying to warn you that he had set off a tsunami of roses."
Jesse has kept texting her and there's three notices of voicemails. With a sigh Beca finally begins reading the messages Jesse left. Scrolling to the first one.
MovieNerd[5:31PM]: Becaw! Just finished meeting with Spielberg! SPIELBERG! Was… Wait for it… AMAZING! So sorry about weekend xoxo
Beca rolls her eyes. She seriously hates it when he calls her Becaw, even in text form. Especially in text form. She scrolls down through the next messages.
MovieNerd[5:37PM]: Hey Beca I really want to apologize profusely for the weekend - I really am sorry xxxxx
MovieNerd[5:39PM]: Becaw? U there? REALLY SORRY xoxox
MovieNerd[5:42PM]: So R U reading this? Going 2 try calling. Love U xxxx
Beca checks the voicemail and sure enough there's a message from 5:44 PM. She continues scrolling.
MovieNerd[5:45PM]: No answer-R U reading these?
MovieNerd[5:47PM]: Come on Becaw please answer- :-(
Beca scrolls down skipping about a dozen messages.
MovieNerd[6:32PM]: I'm a moron, a total jerk
MovieNerd[6:35PM]: i must have been brain dead to do what i did
Beca can only agree with that one. She scrolls the messages, skipping a couple dozen.
MovieNerd[6:38PM]: please forgive. I miss you. :-(
MovieNerd[6:40PM]: sorry for doing a ton of stupid things
MovieNerd[6:42PM]: please know how sorry I am
Beca again scrolls through more, skipping another couple dozen. She can see that they all say about the same thing, though she has a feeling Jesse's been drinking, because the messages get smaller and less clear as she scrolls down.
MovieNerd[7:20PM]: sorry i effed up
MovieNerd[7:20PM]: :-(
MovieNerd[7:24PM]: I promise
MovieNerd[7:24PM]: to
MovieNerd[7:24PM]: do a
MovieNerd[7:24PM]: better
Beca scrunches her eyebrows, she seriously can't believe how many texts Jesse's sent. More scrolls down. More messages are shorter and less coherent.
MovieNerd[8:12PM]: Love you
MovieNerd[8:13PM]: Love you
MovieNerd[8:13PM]: Becawww!
MovieNerd[8:13PM]: Love you
MovieNerd[8:14PM]: Becawww
MovieNerd[8:14PM]: Love you!
As she is looking at the messages a call comes in, Jesse's picture appears on the screen. Beca's thankful though that she has the ringer silenced, she's not really in the mood for Simple Minds. In resignation, Beca answers the call.
"Becaw!" Jesse screeches over the phone. "You called… No, no, no - I called… Becaw! I didn't think you would call… You never call - but you do answer..." It's easy for Beca and Chloe to hear Jesse's inebriation.
Beca gestures with her head to Chloe that she's going to go. Chloe nods and smiles. Beca's smile in return is shy. She drops her eyes to indicate the dirty plates and remaining food, but Chloe waves her off. Beca whispers a thank you as she gets up. Into the phone she says, "You bought me flowers?"
Jesse actually hiccups a "Yep!"
Rolling her eyes, Beca pulls the door closed and can only say, "Weirdo!" She then drops her voice and asks, "What were you thinking?"
Jesse's answer is immediate. "That I love you… Like this much… Don't want to lose you… Best thing in my life.. and I met Spielberg…"
Beca can't stop the smile that forms, there's something amusing about drunk Jesse. "So I gathered. I think you're drunk." For some reason this Jesse reminds her of Freshman Jesse. He's cute, he's funny, he's goofy.
"Nope! The phone's just blurry…"
Beca shakes her head, a flashback to an earlier time makes her smile. "I see…"
"Becaw, I'm going to tell you a secret…"
"Okay…"
"I have been drinking…"
"I kinda get that Jess…" Beca finds it funny, she's not even upset anymore; not about the fight, the ruined weekend getaway, or the tsunami of roses. It's all too surreal for her. This just doesn't happen in real life. It's too over-the-top.
"It's just that Mitch and Jodie wanted to celebrate after meeting Spielberg - who is amazing, though not as amazing as you… So we went to celebrate… Palm Springs is great place to party; but I can't help missing you… Do you miss me?"
"Yeah Jesse…"
"We should Party in Palm Springs…"
"Yeah Jesse…"
"I met Spielberg…"
"That's really cool Jesse…"
"I got you roses…"
"Yeah you did…"
"A lot of roses…"
The petite brunette looks over the roses in the living room and can only chuckle. "You could say that…"
"I just wanted you to know how much I love you…"
"I know Jesse…"
"I LOVE you!"
Beca pauses for half a heartbeat as she looks at the closed door to Chloe's room. "I love you too… Jesse."
Beca shakes her head in resignation, and turns about, heading for her room, listening to the drunk ramblings of her boyfriend, figuring if he's talking to her, than he's not making any bad choices.
[*+*X*+*X*+*X*+*]
It's eleven-thirty p.m. when Chloe once again opens the front door to the apartment; this this time to find over four dozen more bouquets of roses. She can only shake her head. She has to give Jesse his due, when he does grand gestures, he does grand gestures.
She had just peeked in on her tiny DJ a couple minutes ago; the petite brunette had not returned after taking Jesse's call. Chloe again had decided to give her best friend space, though she was kind of sad that their moment had been interrupted. The picnic had been so nice, though she had to admit a picnic on her bedroom floor is nothing compared to an apartment full of roses.
How am I supposed to compete with that?
Beca was asleep still in her day clothes, lying on her bed, her phone laying next to her hand, as if she had been holding it near her ear.
She must have fallen asleep talking to Jesse.
Picking up the phone she sees that the iPhone is drained. With a shake of her head she places the phone into the charging cradle of her radio slash alarm clock. She figures Beca will appreciate when she wakes in the morning. Chloe then picks up a light blanket and drapes it over her friend. The smaller woman looks so peaceful asleep, Choe makes certain she doesn't wake the girl.
"Sweet dreams Becs… Love you," whispers the redhead.
Now Chloe stands in the hallway just staring for a minute considering what to do. She really can't leave the roses out in the hallway. They are blocking the way; luckily their apartment is at the end of the hall. Still if anyone had to go to the stairwell, they would be totally blocked. She takes a couple quick pictures with her iPhone. Partly for posterities sake, partly because no one will believe this when she tells the story, because she knows Beca will deny it, but mostly so she can tease the heck out her best friend.
Once she's got enough digital proof, and with a sigh of resignation she begins the task of picking up the vases and carrying them two at a time into the apartment. It takes about fifteen minutes to move them all, it turns out there were fifty-one more vases, each with forty-eight roses. Before bringing in the roses, the redhead had set up towels and blankets on the floors in the living room and hallway, to set the vases on, once the space she cleared on the counters, shelves, and tables is all used up.
When she's completed she looks at her handy work. The living room is awash in red and white roses. Pulling out her iPhone, Chloe again takes a number of pictures. She also takes a quick video as she walks through the room, and into the kitchen, which is also covered in red and white roses, quietly capturing all of Jesse's grand gesture.
[*+*X*+*X*+*X*+*]
A/N: Well that's my newest chapter. Hopefully you liked it. Like I said I started this chapter a couple times, but it just wasn't happening. Then I decided to use the mental block as inspiration.
Please read and review. I really appreciate any and all comments.