Prompt: "Can you write where Beca drowns at the retreat and Chloe and the Bellas try so hard to revive her.

A/N 1 – OK, so I'm pretty sure this prompt was meant literal but I went a different way about it. I think killing Beca off twice in the space of four chapters is a little harsh, so sorry if I totally ruined your prompt, guest reviewer :(

Drowning in your Love

Beca was sat alone by the lake watching the moon reflect on the ripples of the water. She wasn't sure of the time or how long she'd been sat on the grass banking but Beca didn't really care. She couldn't stand sleeping next to Chloe in the tent with the rest of the Bellas acting like everything was at it was before.

The past couple of months had been very manic; with her internship, constant Bella practise, mention of Worlds every five seconds and all of the school work, Beca was finding it difficult to ground herself. It seemed sitting out here was the first time the DJ actually had a second to let her mind catch up with everything.

"You know Beca, we're very close."

Chloe had whispered the words to her earlier with a smile and an upbeat tone that Beca wasn't quite sure she believed.

"You know one of my biggest regrets is that I didn't do enough experimenting in college."

It was that sentence that had literally forced Beca to this very spot. Chloe's words ultimately becoming her mental and emotional undoing.

Their friendship was something of value to Beca. Chloe had a way of making her feel like she was capable of enduring social interaction without feeling uncomfortable or the usual strong urge to bolt. Chloe Beale was one of a kind; that was clear the moment she stepped into her shower in freshman year; but there was more to it than that. Chloe brought these feelings and urges Beca never truly understood, until now.

Beca was in love with her best friend. The revelation brought her clarity and elation, as well as a crippling fear and anxiety because now Beca had finally admitted it to herself, she could no longer pretend she didn't feel it.

And that's why she turned around abruptly in her sleeping bag with a dismissive "you're so weird."

Beca led down, feeling the damp due of the grass settle into her t-shirt. She let out a quick shiver before closing her eyes and trying to clear her mind.

She couldn't deal with this right now; everything was happening all at once and Beca had no idea what to do.

XXX

Aubrey's tennis shoes crunched down on the gravel as she marched over to the Bella tent. A quick look at the digital watch hanging from her wrist let her know it was time for her to whip them into shape.

These girls need to find their sound before Worlds, or so help me God.

The blonde stopped as she saw a patch of blue in the grass by the lake. As she cautiously made her way over, Aubrey rolled her eyes at the sight of a sleeping Beca curled up into a ball with her arms wrapped around her legs.

She let out a sigh, before gently nudging the sleeping woman with her foot.

"Beca, what the hell are you doing?" she said loudly, in an attempt to bring her round quicker.

The brunette let out a mumble before nudging away from Aubrey and further into the grass.

"Beca, wake up!"

Eyes snapped open and Beca was sitting upright like a flash, clearly startled by the light kicking and the yelling that was way too early for this time of morning.

"Jesus, Aubrey, I thought you were a bear or something" Beca complained whilst getting to her feet.

"You're lucky it wasn't. Why are you out here? You know the tent was big enough for a hobbit like you, right?"

Beca shot her a glare as she wiped the grass cuttings from her clothes.

"The air we were breathing was at least ninety percent fart."

Aubrey sighed, before turning to walk back to the marked path, hollering at Beca to hurry up behind her. The DJ complied with a groan and followed the blonde back to the tent and back to the best friend Beca wasn't sure she could be around right now.

XXX

As grateful as Chloe was for Aubrey's help, she was more than certain her vocal chords were going to give out and her feet suddenly drop off if she continued to work them like this any longer.

"Hey, Bree" she said with a sickly sweet tone, "Could we grab that lunch now? I think Fat Amy is going to eat a poisonous plant or something really soon and we kind of need all Bella's fighting fit for Worlds."

The redhead hoped appealing to Aubrey's inner competitiveness would be effective.

"OK, you're right…" she sighed, currently helping Emily down from the piece of wood she had somehow got her foot lodged in, "…But we meet back here in an hour" she added with a pointed stare.

All of the Bella's nodded immediately, before dispersing in different directions, seeking any kind of escapism they could find.

Chloe took a long swig from the water bottle propped up by a tree and rushed to catch up with Beca.

"Hey, Becs, wait up" she shouted, halfway through a brisk walk and a slight jog.

Beca slowed down, but didn't say anything and waited for Chloe to fall into step.

She couldn't help but notice the brunette had been acting strange from the moment she woke up this morning. Usually Chloe was the first person Beca would find in a morning but today she hadn't even waited for her or the rest of the Bellas before she got up. Chloe had tried to put that down to the camping aspect of the retreat, but she couldn't quite shake the feeling that Beca was out of character.

They walked the rest of the way to the dinning hall in silence, before all of the group remerged and regrouped at a huge table in the centre of the food hall. There was light chitter chatter and clanking of cutlery as everyone quickly dug into their food, thankful they finally had a moment to recharge the batteries and put some distance between themselves and Aubrey.

As far as Chloe could tell, Fallen Leaves retreat was proving a lot tougher than she had first thought. Clearly her best friend wasn't kidding when she said she enjoyed giving people orders and bossing them around. A smile pulled at her lips as she wiped her hands on a napkin; Chloe was really happy Aubrey had found this place, she could tell the blonde enjoyed her work and that made Chloe smile.

"So, you're being quiet."

The redhead nudged Beca's arm, causing the forkful of peas to drop back onto her plate.

"How do you know I'm not resting my voice?" she retorted quickly, pointing to her throat.

Chloe let out a chuckle, as Beca dropped the cutlery down onto her plate, "Actually, I think you should be resting your voice. How is it, by the way?"

There was concern in Beca's eyes that Chloe couldn't ignore. It made her heart swell at the thought of Beca caring about her wellbeing. It wasn't that the DJ didn't do it often, because she did and she always had, but it never failed to make Chloe's stomach flutter as a warmth of love spread through her body.

"It's fine" she assured with a smile, stilling her hand on Beca's arm, "Thanks for asking" she added sincerely.

It was then Beca was snatching her arm away and quickly getting to her feet.

"I'm going to…" she gestured to her tray and quickly made a bee line for the trash can, leaving a confused Chloe alone in the centre of the table with the rest of the Bella's. She turned to look at the conversation to her left, before making a quick decision to follow her best friend, but once she dragged her eyes back, Beca was nowhere in sight.

There was definitely something off with Beca Mitchell today.

XXX

As the day went on, Beca was feeling more self-conscious about her actions towards Chloe and it seemed the redhead had noticed she was distancing herself. The DJ was stupid to think she wouldn't, of course she would, Chloe never missed a beat when it came to Beca.

From the moment they met, it seemed automatic how Chloe was able to read her perfectly; knowing when Beca wanted space or didn't want to be pushed on a certain topic – Chloe had a sixth sense for reading her and quite frankly, Beca was stupid for not realising her feelings sooner. Since everything had come to light the night before, everything between them seemed painfully obvious and it was getting more and more difficult for her to continue to stay away.

Aubrey's team building exercises after lunch didn't help; as it seemed very close physical contact was a must with your partner and obviously being co-captains, Beca was always paired with Chloe.

God, how ironic.

it was late afternoon when the Bella's eyes were opened to the Fallen leaves water sports activates on the very lake Beca had spent the early of the hours of the morning contemplating what to do about her friendship with the redhead, who was currently bursting at the seams at the prospect of getting wet, no wait…

See, this is why Beca had to keep her distance. She could no longer trust what words would leave her mouth and what thoughts would pop into her head. It didn't help when Chloe continuously brushed her leg up against hers under the table at lunch, nor did it help when she reached for Beca's arm and didn't let go.

Beca felt like the possibility of drowning was very strong right now and it had nothing to do with the giant body of water currently swishing in between her toes.

"Hey, Beca. Are you OK?" Stacie asked, watching as the shorter woman stared blankly out onto the lake.

The DJ couldn't help but feel her eyes land on Chloe before she quickly pulled them to Stacie.

"Yeah, fine."

"You know you being weird around Chloe is really oblivious, don't you?" the taller woman smirked, causing mini tidal waves of water to slap against Beca's legs as she made her way over.

"I'm not" she shrugged, defensively pulling her hands around her life vest.

"When did you figure it out?" Stacie asked plainly, causing Beca's eyes to widen and her body turn rigid without her permission.

"I don't know what you're talking about" she replied, kicking the water in front of her.

Stacie nudged her arm gently as she whispered a quiet "Bullshit."

When the DJ remained silent, Stacie let out a sigh.

"Beca, you're in love with her, she feels the same, what's stopping you from just admitting your feelings to her and finally getting your shit together?"

"I'm no- Stacie, just leave it alone, please."

The woman beside her raised her eyebrows with the slight wobble of her head, before letting out a much louder and longer sigh.

"When are you going to learn that we're all rooting for you?" she said exasperated before trudging further into the lake and eventually swimming away.

XXX

Chloe was drying off, attempting to keep the forced smile painted on her face. Beca had barely spoken to her all day and it was starting to stir up a serious worry inside of her. She sat down on the grass, away from the group and watching as the rest of the Bella's ran along a foam like runway, laughing and giggling.

Chloe didn't feel much like joining them anymore, Beca was well and truly imprinted in her mind. The day had felt strange and foreign without the brunette by her side; she missed Beca's sarcastic comments; she missed tugging her hand whenever they walked somewhere and not quite letting it go until they got there; and she missed everything else in between.

The redhead was beginning to think her words last night were a mistake and she spent several minutes internally berating herself for allowing them to spill for her lips whilst she sat on the bank.

Why did you have to scare her away?

Chloe was aware there had been a massive change in Beca since they first met in Freshman year, but she was starting to second guess her decision to mention experimenting in college more last night.

What even made you say that, Chloe?

The internal monologue was her sole focus and Chloe didn't even notice a timid Beca taking a seat beside her. The hand suddenly wrapped around hers pulled the older woman out of her thoughts.

Her mind was quickly soothed as the soft contact of Beca's palm put her at ease almost instantly.

Neither of them spoke at first; they just looked out onto the lake in a comfortable silence.

"I think I'm in love with you."

The words caught Chloe's attention immediately, as her eyes snapped towards Beca's stormy blue ones; they seemed confused and almost defeated; for once, Chloe wasn't able to read her best friend.

Instead she waited patiently, giving Beca's fingers a gentle but reassuring squeeze.

"I'm drowning in my love for you, Chloe and this stupid life vest isn't doing shit" she said, using her other hand to pull carelessly at said item on her torso.

Chloe took a moment to think of how to reply, before she wet her lips and began to speak, "Why don't I try and revive you?"

The redhead was trying to lighten the mood with a joke, attempting to follow Beca's analogy and hopefully work this out.

But Beca didn't laugh, she didn't even smile. She just pulled her hand away and shook her head.

"The water is filling my lungs and I can't breathe anymore. I'm drowning in your love, Chloe and I'm not sure I can even do this."

Chloe felt a sting surge through her.

"I don't understand, Beca."

Her voice was quiet and shaky, as she watched her best friend; the woman she had been in love with for what felt like forever turn away and get to her feet.

"I'm not ready for this, Chlo – I'm sorry. We can't be together."

Beca was quickly retreating back to the marked path, away from the lake and away from Chloe. The redhead watched as the DJ disappeared further into the distance, unable to move or process the soul crushing words that had just poured from Beca's lips.

Once she was no longer in sight, Chloe eyes landed on the hand Beca was just holding and she rubbed her fingers over it nostalgically, trying to bite back the tears. She never thought it would hurt like this; there was a dull ache in her chest and a sharp sting that still coursed through her veins.

Beca was in love with her, but she wasn't even willing to give their relationship a chance – that's what hurt the most; not only had she destroyed the opportunity of their relationship but she had just walked away from their friendship without even a second thought.

Chloe let the tears wet her cheeks then.

And she wanted to drown in them.

XXX

A/N 2 – So I tried (failed?) at some poetic and metaphorical shit, did it work? Please let me know in the reviews.

A/N 3 – If I still haven't got round to your prompt, do not fear, I'm working on it :).

P.S Seen as a few of you asked, I will be continuing the last chapter at some point.