Chapter 3

Chloe's POV

Sitting next to Beca all during first hour was like torture. I wanted so bad to talk to her and get to know her. There's this mysterious vibe around her that makes me want to solve all the pieces and put them together like a puzzle. I have a feeling that nobody really knows her and I, for some reason, want to be the first person to. The moment the bell rings, I jump out of my seat, excited to talk to Beca some more.

"Want me to walk you to your next class?" I nod eagerly and show her my schedule.

"Ugh. Math,"Beca grimaces sympathetically and gestures for me to follow her. We're almost out the door when Mr. Smith stops us.

"Miss Mitchell, could I have a minute please?" Beca freezes, her face a little paler than before. For a second, there's a look of panic on her face but it's quickly gone, replaced with a cocky smile.

"Of course. Anything for you, Mr. Smith." Sarcasm practically drips from every word, and I have to bite my lip from laughing. "I'll see you later?"

"Yeah,"I say and head out of class, wondering how in the hell to get to my next class. Thankfully, Aubrey finds me.

"Chloe, it's been awhile. Hey, John. I'll see you next hour." Aubrey calls out but Mr. Smith doesn't notice, too engrossed in what looks to be like a very serious conversation with Beca.

"What's their deal?"I ask, curiosity getting the best of me. Aubrey glances at them and then tugs on my sleeve to get moving.

"Not really sure. He's constantly taking her out of the class I have with her or finds her in the hallway. For some reason, he picks her out of the crowd."

"Yeah, she didn't do anything." Other than stare at me the whole time, but I can't say anything. I stared at her too. Aubrey shrugs.

"All I can say is that if he sees something wrong with her, she has to be trouble." I stay silent, not wanting to argue with her. Even though she's known Beca longer, I can't help but feel like Beca's not as bad as people think. She just has a lot of secrets, but who doesn't?

"So here's your second hour. I can meet you right here and take you to our class we have together and then after that, lunch. I'll introduce you to my other friends."

"Thanks!" I go into my class and introduce myself to the teacher. She points me to a seat and I sink into it, still thinking about Beca and the weird feeling I get around her.

…….

Finally, it's lunch time. I haven't seen Beca since first hour and there's this faint urgency to see her. I can't figure out why I feel this way about her. Like we're connected somehow.

"To lunch we shall go,"Aubrey yells, linking her arm with mine. "Now, I'll tell you a little about my friends before you meet them. There's Cynthia Rose who isn't like a rose whatsoever. Then there's Lily, who is very quiet so it shouldn't be very hard to figure out which one is her. Lastly, there's Stacie who dated Cynthia Rose but they both soon realized they were better off as friends. Stacie is... there's no way you can miss her." There's a sort of wistfulness tone to Aubrey's voice which makes me wonder if she likes Stacie.

"What's up, bitches?" A pretty, black girl screams as she heads our way. "I heard we have a newcomer." She eyes me for a second before turning to Aubrey.

"You didn't tell me she was so cute." Aubrey sighs heavily, turning to look at me.

"Sorry, she flirts with everything that walks on two legs and has a vagina. Chloe, this is Cynthia Rose. Cynthia Rose, this is Chloe."

"Beautiful name for a beautiful girl,"Cynthia smiles and I just shake my head. "No, that's not working for you. You're definitely straight then." Grinning, I shake my head again, slowly.

"Damn,"Cynthia Rose nods her head, respectfully. "That's impressive. Not many can resist this."

"I can,"Aubrey pipes up, laughing and ignoring the glare sent her way.

"It's okay. I'm more into brunettes anyway. Now, let's go eat." We stroll into the cafeteria and my eyes instantly latch onto Beca, who is staring at me. She's sitting with the same group of people who walked with her this morning and while they're all laughing, she still has her serious look. Why though? She smiled for me. Did something bad happen with Mr. Smith?

"Chloe,"Aubrey snaps, getting my attention. Cynthia Rose is several feet ahead, already sitting at a table with two other girls. Multiple people glare as they walk around me. Apparently, I had frozen in my tracks without realizing it. Shaking my head, I follow Aubrey to her table and she starts introducing everybody.

"Guys, this is Chloe. She's new." I study both girls, already guessing who they are. One girl has dark hair framing her face and she won't meet my eyes. That must be Lily, the shy one. She whispers something that's inaudible but based on Cynthia Rose's expression, it wasn't pretty. The other girl has to be Stacie and man, Aubrey is right. She's gorgeous. I can't help but compare her with Beca though. Stacie has more of obvious beauty, one that's hard to miss. It makes her seem very approachable and you just want to instantly be her friend. Beca though, you have to really dig to find the true beauty. She's so serious and mysterious and you want to get to know her, but she has a scary vibe that screams 'fuck off'.

What gets me though, isn't the strange serious mood that Beca has. It's the way I feel connected to her and for some reason, can tell what she's feeling. If I look into her eyes, It's like looking into her mind. Does she feel this way too? My eyes gravitate to her and I gasp quietly at the intensity in her stare. Like she's fascinated and can't get enough of me.

"-your first day?" I slowly crawl my way out of my thoughts of Beca and to Stacie.

"Sorry, what did you say?" I give her a shy smile, blushing at being caught staring at Beca.

"I asked how your first day is going so far?"

"Oh,"is all I can say at such an embarrassing moment. "It's been okay. A little nerve racking at first, but after making some friends, it hasn't been too bad."

"She means ever since she saw Beca everything seemed right in the world." Aubrey teases, punching me lightly. Her smile is strained and doesn't meet her eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Cynthia asks and Lily nods her head as if urging Aubrey to continue.

"It seems like Chloe over here has a little school girl crush on Beca." My cheeks light up like they're on fire and I can't stop it. So instead, I put my head in my hands and shake it.

"You guys have it all wrong." How do I explain the weird connection I have with her? They'll just laugh at me.

"Yeah, making googly eyes at Beca earlier definitely doesn't mean you have a crush on her." I can practically see Aubrey roll her eyes. Everybody laughs while I just continue to shake my head and groan, hiding my tomato red face.

"You guys are all jerks,"I say, but there's no venom in my voice.

"Wow. Somehow you guys have known her for two seconds yet she's already calling you jerks,"a voice laughs and I immediately know who it is. The pull got stronger so it could only mean one thing. Peeking through my hands, I look over and see a very amused Beca staring down at me.

"Hi,"I cringe when my voice comes out as a squeak.

"Hi. Could I join y'all?" Too shocked to speak, the girls just nod and Beca sits next to me. "How's your day going?" Better now that you're here, is what I want to say.

"Pretty good,"is what I say instead. "Crazy amount of homework though." Beca smiles, sympathetically.

"Homework is a bitch." After that, Beca and I stare at each other longer than we should and only look away when Cynthia clears her throat.

"Not to be rude or anything, but why are you over here?" Beca just chuckles at Cynthia's question.

"Sorry, I should've explained. Chloe decided to declare us friends so I figured it's only right if I came and sat with her for a bit." The girls all flick their eyes my way before looking at each other.

"Excuse me,"Beca announces, standing up. "My moronic friends over there are waving their arms like banshees so I better go see what's up. See you later." Beca places her hand on my shoulder and her touch lingers even after she's gone. The moment Beca reaches her table, everybody starts talking.

"Damn, you've got quite a pair to be friends with her,"Cynthia cackles, doubling over.

"You sure you want to go down that road?" Not-so-subtle disappointment creeps into Aubrey's voice.

"I don't think I've ever seen her smile,"Stacie contemplates quietly, more to herself than anything. My eyes dart over to Lily, halfway expecting her to say something. Sending me a small smile, she just shrugs and looks down at her hands.

"Look,"I start, "Beca's not that bad. Sh-"

"How would you know?" Aubrey blurts out loudly, startling me and everybody around us. "We've known her longer than you."

"But you don't really know her, Aubrey."

"Neither do you."

"Better than you, I bet." Both of us are glaring at each other, practically nose to nose and we just sit there, nothing left to say. Stacie's commanding voice breaks the angry silence.

"Girls, stand down." Cynthia snorts earning a glare from Stacie. "Look, Chloe, you're new here. All we're trying to do is make sure you don't make a mistake that you'll regret in the future."

"Bu-"

"No buts. We're your friends now and friends look out for each other." I pout, ignoring the smirk on Aubrey's face. "Now, Aubrey. Chloe is right. We don't really know Beca; only what we've heard about her. If Chloe believes her to be a good person, let's give her a chance." My pout quickly turns into a smirk.

"But Beca's so….alternative."

"I said no buts. Now, both of you shake hands and make up." Grumbling, we mumble apologies and when we don't shake hands, Stacie glares at us. Frantically, we shake hands, not wanting to endure Stacie's wrath.

"We just met today and already had a fight,"I comment, giggling. "That's a first." Everybody laughs and for the rest of the lunch period, we joke, leaving that little spat behind us. For now, at least.