AN/ THANKS SO MUCH FOR ALL OF THE SUPPORT THIS FIC HAS BEEN GETITNG; EVERY REVIEW, FOLLOW AND FAVOURITE IS A MASSIVE DEAL FOR ME.
I'M A HORRIBLE PERSON, TRULY I AM. BECA MIGHT KNOW WHAT SHE PLANS TO DO, BUT THE THING IS, SHE HASN'T QUITE TOLD ME YET… SO I'M STILL FIGURING IT OUT.
BUT, I AM A WOMAN OF MY WORD, AND I ALWAYS HONOUR MY PROMISES. PERHAPS WE AREN'T ANY WISER AS TO WHAT BECA INTENDS TO DO, BUT I KNOW I'M CURIOUS ABOUT WHAT CHLOE IS THINKING RIGHT NOW...
"What if I told you it's too late? What if I say that I can't wait?
What if I meet somebody else who doesn't leave me on a shelf?
I'll give you one more chance, but it only lasts
Only forever, only forever, only forever, only forever
Only forever, only forever, only forever, only forever
Only forever…"
Chloe slammed the Aubrey's front door behind her when she finally arrived home from the coffee shop. Sure, it had taken her the better part of an hour to walk back, but she wasn't asking Beca for a lift home, and she wasn't waiting around for a cab. Wearing her heels meant she had blisters on her feet from the walk, and that advice about walking clearing your mind was a load of total rubbish. Walking home did not reduce her stress around the situation with Beca, not in the slightest. If anything, it had made it worse, because Chloe constantly found herself staring over her shoulder to see if Beca, or at least, an oversized black range rover, was following behind her. Thankfully, neither were, but that didn't stop her worrying. Beca's good intentions would probably lead to her trying to offer Chloe a ride home, but Chloe couldn't face Beca right now. It was too confusing.
Telling Beca what she did in the coffee shop had been a necessary evil. Chloe hated that she'd said it to Beca, but then again, she was pretty proud of herself. Those things needed to be said. Truthfully, they needed to have been said ages ago, before they initially broke up, back when Beca started spending less time at home and far too much time away. But Chloe hadn't wanted to, not then at least. She didn't want to be the one to tear their relationship apart, to be the one to make Beca choose between the two things she loved the most. Somehow, realising how Beca always seemed to choose her work over Chloe made it easier to say it. Knowing that there was nothing left to break also made it easier to say the words that, otherwise, would have completely shattered their relationship.
Although Chloe felt like a massive weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she told Beca that she couldn't go back to how things were before, she couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of guilt because of it. She felt terrible. No, it was worse than that; she felt like a total bitch. But she had always promised Beca she'd be 100% honest. And she hadn't been: she'd spent months feeling desperately unhappy but hadn't said anything because she didn't want to hurt Beca's feelings.
Well she'd done it now. And she'd definitely done it three months ago when she left Beca with nothing more than a four word letter and an abandoned ring.
The ring had been Chloe's all-time favourite. It was a beautiful ring, and it was the only ring she'd ever owned that had been a truly perfect fit. She'd loved that ring so much; when she wore it, it was like carrying a tiny piece of the girl she loved around with her. When Beca first started working away, the ring was a reminder of her, and reminded Chloe of how much Beca loved her, and how they were going to be together forever. However, as Beca worked away more and more, the weight of the ring on her finger matched the weight upon her shoulders. It became less of a reminder of the girl who wanted her, and more of a reminder of how much Beca had broken had promised. As Chloe approached her limit with Beca, the weight of the ring became heavier and heavier, until eventually, she couldn't take it anymore. And so, Chloe took the ring off, leaving it in an envelope on the kitchen counter at the apartment her and Beca had shared for almost three years.
It was a real dick move, but Chloe knew she wouldn't be able to tell Beca how unhappy she was in person. Cutting Beca off altogether had been one of the hardest things Chloe had ever done, but Chloe had no regrets about it anymore. Sure, she knew that realistically, things between her and Beca probably wouldn't work, a fact which left her heartbroken. But by saying everything that had been on her mind, she felt impossibly better. She could never go back to how she was living before, but she would go back to a life with Beca in a heartbeat if things were different. Telling Beca that was the only way things would ever change. Throwing the responsibility for their relationship to Beca alleviated some of her stress. She'd told Beca exactly where she stood. It was up to Beca to do something. And if she didn't… well, at least Chloe had managed to get it all off of her chest.
Hearing a key in the front door, Chloe jumped. She had been so deep in thought that she hadn't even realised she was still stood there in the kitchen.
"You alright Chlo?" said a slightly hungover Aubrey as she staggered into the kitchen. Her blonde hair was not in its usual organised bun, and instead fell wildly, in curls around her face. She wore sunglasses, and exactly no makeup. A hungover Aubrey Posen was a rare sight to see, and if Chloe wasn't so preoccupied, she would have found it absolutely hilarious.
"Yeah I'm good Bree. How about you?"
Aubrey responded with a less than courteous greeting.
"Is your hangover really that bad?" Chloe giggled, because it was coming up four on the clock.
"Whatever Amy puts in her alcohol makes it worse than your jiggle juice of freshman year!" Aubrey declared, cursing as she dragged a chair out from the table.
"You used to love my jiggle juice…" Chloe said, desperately trying to keep a straight face.
"Not the morning after I drank it." Aubrey said, adding, "the downstairs toilet in the Bellas' house was never quite the same after that."
"The first three rows of people at Lincoln centre were never quite the same after you puked on them…"
"Nor were Jessica and Ashley this morning…"
"At least you didn't puke on Jesse Swanson."
"There is that," Aubrey nodded nonchalantly, "hang on – how do you know about me and Jesse?"
"Know what about you and Swanson?"
"That we're together."
"I didn't Bree…"
"Shit."
"You and Jesse?! OMG that's almost as cute as Benji and Emily. Wait till Fat Amy finds out…"
"I forbid you from telling her; or anyone else."
"They'll find out eventually Bree…"
"Enough of that; you aren't telling anyone anything. Anyway, where did you disappear off to last night?"
"Home."
"How'd you get back? Did you call a cab or something?"
"No," Chloe admitted, looking away from Aubrey, "Erm, Beca kinda gave me a lift home."
"Beca?!" Aubrey exclaimed in shock, "Why would she do that?" Pausing to think, she then added, "You didn't hook up with her did you Chlo?"
"No, Bree, I didn't hook up with her – I wanted to, but she refused."
"Good." Aubrey said, still thinking. "So what happened today?"
"Woke up here, alone," Chloe emphasised, "but then found Beca's number in my phone and rang her."
"And…"
"And we went for coffee, but it all ended in disaster." Chloe said, briefly recounting the events of the last 20ish hours for Aubrey.
"What did I tell you about that alt-girl Chlo? I knew she would break your lovely ginger heart…"
"Shut up Aubrey."
"It's true though."
"Well, if it makes you happy, I think I broke her heart today."
Aubrey opened her mouth to say 'serves her right,' but thought better of it. "At least you told her what you should really have said months ago."
"I guess."
"The ball's in her court now, isn't it? We'll just have to see what Mitchell does to get you back."
"If she does anything."
"Oh, trust me Chlo, she'll do something, something big."
"Not if it means giving up the work she loves so much."
"She loves you just as much Chlo, she just lost sight of it."
"You're so hypocritical Posen."
"Why?"
"Well, one minute you're being awful to Beca, yet then it sounds like you were almost defending her."
"Oh, I still have a grudge against that brunette, and I would love to give her a piece of my mind after what she put you through, but I know I don't need to."
"How can you be so sure Posen?"
"Because I have known that alt girl for just as long as you have. I would bet she didn't know the exact reason why you left when you went out, so you telling her will have come as a shock to her. It'll have scared her Chlo."
"Disappointing then, isn't it?"
"In what way Chlo?"
"Beca always runs from her problems."
"I don't think she will Chlo."
"I wish I had your confidence Bree."
"She might be shit at relationships and anything social, but you can't deny that Beca Mitchell's heart is in the right place. Being scared that she might lose you, especially if she would lose you forever, will shock her into action."
"Or make her see that she doesn't want me, not really."
"Now it's my turn to tell you to shut up, Beale. You know that's not true. You're just as much a part of her as her music is. Give it time Chlo."
"I'm sick of waiting for her. I'm sick of going along with what she wants. Waiting is crap, Bree."
"Well, I'm sorry to hear that. But give her chance. She might have magic powers when it comes to putting music to song lyrics, but Beca doesn't have a magic wand she can whip out to fix her problems: she has to fix them herself."
"But will she fix them?"
"Chloe Beale – stop with this depressing doubt. Stressing about what will or won't happen isn't making you feel any better. It's been all of two hours Chlo, I doubt she's had time to absorb what's happened, let alone do something about it."
"But…"
"But, nothing Chlo. She needs to figure out what she wants, as do you, because right now, you both want different things. You both know things need to change in order for your relationship to work. Until then, there's no point sitting her worrying about it. Change takes time, you know that.
Chloe sat in deep thought for a few minutes after Aubrey said that. As much as Chloe hated to admit it, the blonde had a point. Only time would tell, and right now, Chloe had plenty of time. She just had to trust that Beca would figure something out, and if not… well there are plenty of other fish in the sea. She sat thinking like this in silence, until she was interrupted by Aubrey, who was stood looking at her; her expression a mix of concern and disapproval.
"Now," Aubrey started, cutting off Chloe's train of thought, "I suggest we both change into some pyjamas and put a film on. I'm going to ring the pizza guy and get him to bring some food."
Chloe smiled at that, and wandered up to her room, changing into some ancient pyjamas with the Bellas' logo on them. She made her way to the lounge, and crashed on the couch. Aubrey remerged several minutes after, wearing a pair of Cath Kidston flannels pyjamas.
"So, what should we watch Chlo?"
"I don't know, something upbeat I guess…"
"Grease it is then…"
"I love that film!"
"I know you do…"
The two put the film on, and sat on the sofa watching it, singing along to every musical number. It got to the moment were Rizzo sings 'Look At Me, I'm Sandra Dee' and Aubrey let out a groan of disdain, while Chloe chuckled.
"I'll never forget Beca singing this about me when we went camping sophomore year."
"I'll never forget how she brought enough blonde wigs for everyone and had changed the lyrics."
"Don't remind me Chloe."
Chloe laughed at that, allowing herself to become absorbed into the film. Sitting there with Aubrey, she felt kind of relieved, and kind of at peace about the whole situation. Maybe things weren't going to be a quick fix, but there was a chance it might work out alright in the end. And, it was Beca's responsibility, not hers.
Meanwhile, the doorbell rang, shaking Chloe out of her thoughts.
What was it Dumbledore said in Harry Potter?
"It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live."
Chloe decided it was time to stop dwelling on Beca Mitchell.
She needed to start living.
Eating a massive pizza seemed like a good starting point.
AN/ OKAY, SO I'M GUESSING A CHAPTER FROM CHLOE'S PERSPECTIVE WAS A BIT UNEXPECTED, BUT DON'T WORRY, WE'LL FIND OUT WHERE BECA'S AT IN THE NEXT CHAP. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS.
AS USUAL, REVIEW, FOLLOW, FAVOURITE.
I'M WRITING THE NEXT CHAPTER AS I POST THIS, SO IF I GET SAY, 15 REVIEWS ON THIS CHAPTER, I'LL POST THAT ONE AS SOON AS IT'S FINISHED. TILL THEN, THAT'S ALL I'VE GOT TO SAY