Chloe plops down on empty bar stool next to Aubrey. "I need another drink," she breathes out to no one in particular. "I've been dancing for hours now, I can't feel my legs anymore." She giggles and hiccups at the same time.
The bartender and the blond girl share a look. Aubrey shakes her head a little and says, "Give her water, please. She's had too much."
"No! Aubrey! I'm just having fun. Come on, now. No, I'll have Long Island Iced Tea. See, it's tea. Tea is good for you."
"She'll have water."
The poor bartender can see that the redhead can barely keep herself together so he agrees with the blonde. He sets a glass of water with lemon on top to their direction.
Chloe is too intoxicated to notice. She gulps down the glass like it's a shot. She raises her empty glass, spins around to where she can see a few other Bellas, and yells over the background music, "EVERYBODY TAKE MORE SHOTS! WOOOOOOHH!"
"Chloe, that's enough. You'll feel this in the morning. Why are you unsupervised right now?" Aubrey looks around to check if she can see -
"I don't need adult supervision. Beca can stay in her hotel room all day for all I care. She's not even here."
Aubrey tenses. Her gin and tonic isn't strong enough for this. "I meant Chicago, Chloe. The last I saw you guys, you were both on the dance floor."
"Oh, he got called out. He's in the army! That happens a lot." She lets out a little laugh and grabs her best friend by the shoulder. She leans in close enough to the girl's ear and whispers, "He's a terrible dancer. I don't think I can live with that." Giggles escape from her mouth like she's not in control of herself anymore.
Aubrey gently pushes the redhead away from her. Yes, they're really close friends but that doesn't mean she enjoys having warm alcohol breath near her face.
"Speaking of living with another person, Beca called me earlier and asked about you."
By the mention of a name, Chloe straightens up and appears to be trying so hard to be sober. "She did? Traitor. She's asking about me but she didn't even call me!" She's maintaining such a posh posture yet her droopy eyes give her away. "What did she want?"
Aubrey Posen wants to say "You, obviously!", but as the more sober friend, she goes for, "Oh, I don't know. She hanged up right after I said you were dancing with Chicago."
She visibly notices the drunk girl's gulp. As if she's in trouble or something. Wait, is she? "You know what? I'll check if she's awake. Then she can come here and get you. I think Fat Amy plans to hop bars still but you clearly have had enough. I don't want you to come with us but I can't leave you here alone either."
For some reasons, Chloe has a big smile on her face. "She'll be awake. It's like what, 2:30? Watch!" She reaches in her blazer and takes out her phone. "I'm going to send her a selfie," she announces and then proceeds to follow up with her announcement.
Aubrey feels stunned that she's not even surprised by this action, anymore. Beca cannot come here soon enough.
"Why can't you just call like normal people do? I look ugly." The DJ's laptop sits in front of her as she positions herself against the headrest.
Stacie replies, "Trust me, I wouldn't Skype you right now if I had a choice. This is for science, Mitchell! I need to see your face as you relay your experience in the memory."
"Do I have to tell you everything?"
"That's what Terms and Conditions are for, honey. There's a non-disclosure agreement that you willing said "I accept" to when you first opened the app."
"Who even reads the whole thing? I don't think anyone's ever done that, honestly."
One of them sighs and the other one rolls her eyes.
"Trust the system, Cap! Come on. Lay it on me."
Beca is frighteningly aware of what she has gotten herself into, unsure now of the decisions she has made. Well, she can still back out. Pack her bags and forget it all happened. Although, a part of her lives for the curiosity that this test has conjured in her so she's trapped. "Fine. For science. If you breathe a word about this outside, I'll choke you, Conrad. I swear I will maim you."
There's no response from the other girl but she can see that she's just waiting for her to actually start talking.
"Okay. So, here we go. I went back to our first ICCA finals. Instead of kissing Jesse, I kissed Chloe instead." It's out. There it goes. She's said it. This may be the first time that Beca voiced out her true feelings for the redhead and boy, it's surprisingly a relief. Like somebody popped a hole in the plastic bag that suffocates her.
She wonders why Stacie doesn't even react. Not even a flinch. She sees her write down something on a piece of paper and then, gazes back up at her. "Alright. Can you elaborate on that?" Stacie Conrad acting so professional? This is new to Beca.
"So you know what happened freshmen year, right? That kiss started my relationship with Jesse. So this time, I'm hoping that if I kissed Chloe, then I'll have a relationship with her instead. But she said something I actually didn't know before. She implied that she failed Russian Lit because of me. If anything, she wanted to stay in Barden for as long as I was there. I never knew that! Why would she do that?" Beca pauses. "Oh, wait, I do know why. She said she wanted to know me more. Make me open up or something about trusting her. She wanted to be close to me, Stacie! I couldn't believe it."
A shuffling of paper. Pen writing down aggressively. That's what the brunette catches from this storytelling. Stacie is painfully being quiet and just listening the whole time.
"That's all. I'm done. When she told me that, I snapped back to reality. Say something, please. You're kinda freaking me out here, woman!" The person on the screen holds up her index finger, indicating that patience must be exercised at the time being.
Goodness, it's a very long minute.
"Here's how I understand this." Stacie finally breaks the silence. "In the memory, you can choose to replay it or redo it. You took your chance and played it differently. Entirely, I think, that it actually affects the outcome. We're talking about drastic changes here." Beca is lost but nods, anyway. "In this scene, what triggers you to come back to the present is the fact that you kissed Chloe which prompted her to tell you things you shouldn't yet know." Beca's I-don't-follow expression manifests. "I think I mentioned before that this all depends on how much damage or repair you've made. Once an action is done, a reaction occurs. You're not supposed to know why Chloe stayed behind. That alone changes your relationship with her. The memory stops for safety reasons. It protects you from yourself just in case you endanger your future within the memory."
"Stacie, I need to stop you there because you're not making sense to me. Please, just please, speak English. My hands are getting clammy."
"Beca, I think you and Chloe wouldn't have worked out if you started dating that year. I mean, I don't know what happens but it seems that your relationship with her would eventually fail. The memory ends there so you didn't have to see that happen."
Ding! The brunette's phone lights up. She looks down to see the notification show it's a message from Aubrey. She chooses to ignore it.
She stares back up at the screen. "What does that even mean? Chloe and I wouldn't even be friends anymore?"
"I'm sorry, Cap. If it didn't happen, we wouldn't really know. I'm just calculating possible outcomes and that's top result. As of now."
Ding! She looks down at her phone again and sees a message from Chloe that says an image is attached. She curves her lips up. "One second,"she tells Stacie, her smile becoming more and more evident.
Chloe. Chloe with her eyes closed. Chloe with her eyes closed and a wide grin. Chloe like a little child. With her cheeks so pink and hair a beautiful kind of mess. No message whatsoever. It doesn't come with context but the DJ loves it, nonetheless.
Then, she reads Aubrey's message.
If you're awake, I would consider getting myself in this bar right now and escorting Chloe back to her room. Seriously, she's already drunk and we're not even done partying yet! I don't want to be a bad friend but I just want her safe. Come get her, Beca. Please.
There's the context she's looking for.
"Sorry, Stace. I got to go." Before she closes her laptop, however, she hears Stacie's words, "Put a little more thought next time and be more careful in your second memory."
For sure, she's going to think about it now. She's already considering her second choice of past. She's too weak for Chloe (but she'll never admit that). Forget Chicago. Forget the kiss. Forget the "I love you" enigma. Chloe needs her. She still has time to unravel their time spent together. All these possibilities swim in her subconscious while she changes into pants and gathers her gray leather jacket. Out the door she goes, but not her thoughts.
The blonde girl runs her hand up and down the redhead's back. It's been like this for a few minutes, just Chloe with her head down on her right arm placed at the countertop. Aubrey just watches over her.
"I kissed Chicago. She saw me kiss Chicago."
It's faint but Aubrey picks up every word. This is why she's rubbing her back, to console her, to comfort her, at least. "I know, Chloe. You told me. Listen, you did nothing wrong, okay? You'll be alright."
The cycle repeats itself where they become quiet again. The blonde girl runs her hand up and down the redhead's back. This is the scene that Beca arrives to.
"Hey." She nods to Aubrey.
"Hi, Beca! Thanks for doing this. I'm so sorry, I know I could bring her back myself but Emily is still with Fat Amy and the girls. Somebody has to watch over her, too. Who knows what the Bellas will teach her. Or make her do."
Beca thinks the blonde still acts as the aca-parent and chuckles slightly. "I understand, Bree. I got Chloe. You handle the rest."
She goes to Chloe's side and pats her gently on the back. "Chlo. Hey, it's me. Let's go. Can you walk?"
"Beca," is all what the redhead mutters. She put her right arm over the smaller girl's shoulder for support as they both slowly find their way out of that place.
The streets are busy. The lights around are blinding. Beca has her arm around Chloe's waist to keep both of them from falling sideways.
"You really can't pass the sobriety test right now, Chlo. I didn't expect you to be this smashed already."
Chloe giggles. "I can't help it. By the way, you're so cute right now. I'm basically using you as a cane." She laughs at her own amusement as they wobble a little to the left. "Oops! Sorry. I don't think you can handle me, Becs."
"Alright. That's it. It's literally just a 5-minute walk to the hotel. We've been walking for nearly 10 minutes and we're only halfway through. I can see the place from here." Beca bends forward with her back on Chloe. "I'll give you a ride, Red. Hop on."
"Are you sure, Beca? You're small and you want to carry me on your back. Aww, but I'll crush you!" Chloe slaps the younger girl on the shoulder.
Beca Effin Mitchell doesn't just blush. But she does! She blames it on the jacket she's wearing. It's just hot out. "Beale, if you get on my back now, we'll get to the hotel faster. Also, it's more stable rather than the two us crisscrossing the street looking like idiots or easy targets. I don't know which one's worse." She looks back. "Trust me, I can carry you."
And so, the older girl drapes her arms over Beca's shoulders and pushes her weight onto her back. She shudders at the touch of warm hands holding hers firmly as she's lifted a few feet off the ground.
"You're just tall, Red, that's why you think I can't do this. You weigh just enough for me to actually manage this rather easily."
Beca has composed herself. She is indeed carrying Chloe Beale in her back! She welcomes a pair of legs that touch her sides. Before she starts moving forward though, she steadies both of them first by wrapping her arms under each side of her own waist.
Chloe breathes at the back of Beca's neck which causes the younger girl to shiver. "Thank you," she murmurs.
They finally reach the elevator amidst all the looks they've received from strangers in the lobby. It's quite a ride up with nothing but elevator music resounding inside that confined space. "I don't want to be in my room. Let's go to yours." Chloe speaks ever so softly, she actually sounds half-asleep.
Upon reaching the right floor, Beca takes cautious steps towards her room, fumbling with the key card because it's kinda hard to balance a person and a door handle at the same time.
The DJ lays her on her bed and Chloe just sprawls like she's the only one there. Beca sits at the edge, close enough for her to take off the other girl's shoes.
Chloe manages to half-open her eyes and watches Beca take care of her. "I'm sorry I kissed Chicago in front of you," She blurts out.
She sees the brunette tense a little and turns to look at her. "I don't think that's the kind of conversation we should be having right now." She touches Chloe's cheek and she can't help but lean in to the warmth of the hand. "Rest up, Chlo."
She's about to stand up when a hand pulled her arm down. "Where are you going?" Chloe asks.
"I was gonna lie down on the couch so you can have more space."
"Don't be silly. Sleep with me here." She pats the side next to her. "We both know I find it hard to drift off without you."
The brunette hesitated for a moment but eventually, she gives in. She strides over to the bed and places herself next to Chloe who already has her eyes closed. The redhead has a little smile when she feels a familiar scent beside her. Right when she's almost out, Beca softly whispers, "Me, too, if I'm being honest."
Both haven't changed clothes and are probably super uncomfortable with their sleepwear tonight. But they're just too tired. It has been a very long night.