Prompt: "Chloe is a nerd in high school and Beca is the cool popular girl she has a crush on."

Late Night Window

It was almost midnight and Chloe was still working on her English assignment that was due in next week. Her peers at school had called the redhead a "nerd" or a "geek" in the past but the truth was Chloe just really enjoyed school and widening her knowledge.

It started from a young age and ever since she could write her own name Chloe was eager to better herself academically, whether it was in math, science or just to complete more challenging crosswords; Chloe loved the satisfaction that came with completing something.

So it was no surprise she was already working on an essay that most of her classmates wouldn't have even given a second thought about yet.

School was something she enjoyed but she had very few friends to share her teenage experiences. Parties and experimenting with sex, alcohol and drugs wasn't as important to her as it was to others and she wasn't ashamed to admit that.

But at times, Chloe would often catch herself wondering what it must be like for the popular kids in her classes. They walked the halls with a sense of confidence Chloe hadn't developed yet and a social acceptance she wished she had.

"Those kids won't have the bright future you're setting yourself up for, Chloe."

Her Mom's words would run through her mind when she caught herself feeling envious. Maybe it was true, but she was painfully aware that the school "nerd" never got asked to the school dances or invited to the cool parties. There was a part of her that thought she might be missing out on the high school experience; but the social highflyers at high school didn't always get into Harvard.

That was a much more comforting thought than her Mother's reassurance.

Beca Mitchell was the school rebel; a slacker on her school work with a "fuck you" attitude - It made Chloe's throat dry and her knees weak, but as far as she knew, Beca Mitchell wasn't even aware of her existence.

"Why don't you just talk to her?" Aubrey had asked countless times when she caught her best friend staring.

"And what would I say?" Chloe asked, shoving more books into her already filled backpack.

"I don't know, hi maybe?" the blonde replied, taking her bag and rearranging it quickly, before slipping the last of the books inside neatly.

"Yeah, OK" she scoffed.

Chloe knew she wasn't into guys. There had been a boyfriend for a couple of months; George was on the debate team and stuttered whenever Chloe spoke to him. At first she thought it was sweet, but as time went on and their friendship developed into something more, the redhead knew George wasn't what she really wanted. There was something missing, something she didn't feel until she kissed Heather Morris during a game of spin the bottle in her basement a few months ago and suddenly everything made sense.

The reason she was attracted to Beca's blue eyes and why her line of sight always seemed to wander to her low cut tank tops – Chloe finally understood what it all meant.

But she couldn't act on her feelings; mainly because of her school work but partly because the thought of talking to Beca made her feel sick with nervousness.

She was just saving the changes to her word document when a loud bang outside her window startled her.

Chloe's bedroom was on the second floor. When they first moved to the town five or six years ago, Chloe had won the heated discussion with her younger sister in order to have the bedroom with the balcony; something she was instantly regretting now there was a rapping on her window.

At first she froze, staring at her laptop screen and her legs unwilling to move themselves from her bed. Chloe carefully closed the lid, before settling her gaze on the window. There were a few minutes of silence, before another tap caused her to jump up in a blind panic.

She cautiously made her way over and hesitantly tugged the curtain open to see a figure crouching down.

"Chloe Beale, right?" a voice asked hurriedly.

Before the redhead could respond the person (intruder?) was standing up and resting their hand on the window sill. "It's Beca. Beca Mitchell. I know this is weird, but please can you, like, let me in?"

Chloe stood up straight in panic, comically moving away from her window and then returning to it, a puzzled look on her face.

"But I- What are you- Why do you need to come in?" her words were a jumbled mess, a dozen thoughts running through her mind too quickly for her decipher one from the other.

"I need to hide, just please."

Chloe's hands reached without her permission and pulled the window up; a fumbling Beca Mitchell jumped in and closed it behind her, almost knocking a bewildered Chloe off balance.

"I TP'ed Mr. Harold's house and now he's checking the street."

Beca's voice was calmer than it was outside; it even had a slight amusement to it.

"Why did you TP his house?" Chloe mumbled quietly.

Beca smirked before she replied, "Because he gave me an F and the guys kind of dared me."

"Do you usually do what the guys say?"

The words were out of her mouth before she had a chance to stop them. Chloe had noticed Beca was the first person take up the role of class clown when she was encouraged by her friends. The redhead had spotted the falseness to her smile when Beca did it and that made her curious.

"No, but you have to admit Mr Harold is a dick" she shot back with a frown.

It was true, the science teacher was known for his harsh grading and constant bad mood.

"Yeah, I guess that's true" she smiled.

Beca took in her surroundings, looking around Chloe's room. She moved away from the window and not so elegantly threw herself down on the bed. Her hands reached for the many sheets of paper scattered around the laptop, giving them a quick scan. Chloe was suddenly walking forward, pulling them from Beca's grasp and moving them onto her desk.

"So, what you doing?" Beca asked with an upbeat smile, making herself more comfortable.

"You mean before you demanded I let you into my bedroom?" Chloe shot back with a smile of her own.

Beca laughed.

"I didn't demand; I'll have you know I said please" Beca reminded, "...Besides many girls would be more than thrilled to have me sat on their bed" she added mischievously, tapping at the empty space beside her.

Chloe's face turned a slight shade of red, before she took the other girls hint and took a seat; a healthy gap in between them.

"Where are your friends?"

She shrugged, "I don't know and I don't really care."

Chloe nervously pulled at the hem of her pyjama top, before she brought her knees up to her chest.

"So are you going to Kenny's party tomorrow night?" Beca asked, kicking off her shoes.

Chloe noted her grey socks with green dinosaurs on them before responding, "No, I didn't get invited."

Beca crossed her legs underneath her, before lightly poking the redhead's side, "Yeah, well I'm inviting you right now, so are you coming?" she asked with a smile.

Chloe didn't know what to say, unsure as to whether she was being asked out of pity or not.

"I don't know" she mumbled out, eyes cast on the window Beca had entered through ten minutes ago.

"C'mon, Chloe, I never see you at the parties! I think you should go" the brunette reasoned, shuffling a little closer.

"You notice?" she almost whispered, whipping her head round to face a grinning Beca.

"Um, yeah!" she replied, with a tone that seemed to say "duh."

Chloe smiled back at her, "Why do you notice?" she asked quietly, her tone unsure.

There was a pause and the redhead began to internally berate herself for asking, Beca's facial expression unreadable.

"I don't know, I guess I just do. Why, is that so hard to believe?"

She didn't have an answer for that one and instead decided on remaining quiet.

"C'mon, you haven't questioned how I knew this was your house yet?" Beca asked with a smirk.

No, Chloe hadn't.

"I think I notice you a lot more than you think, Chloe."

The redhead let her knees settle back onto the bed, as she turned to face the girl sitting besides her wearing a look she hadn't seen before.

"Come to the party tomorrow night with me?" Beca asked confidently, a smile pulling at her lips. "I'll pick you up, we could get something to eat first if you want?" she nudged Chloe's leg with her own.

"You want to go with me?"

"Yeah, Chlo, I only want to go with you."

XXX