One Mississippi, Two Mississippi

Beca was sat on the old blue couch watching the rain bounce off the driveway. The garage doors were rolled up as the sound of the storm filled her mind and silenced her thoughts. There was something about the thunder and lightning that made Beca feel unimportant and insignificant – it was a welcomed feeling. A reminder that the world was and always would be bigger than anything that lived in it.

She let out a sigh, closing her eyes to the bellowing sound of thunder that echoed off the white walls and bounced around her garage with a smile. It was nice watching her neighbourhood empty of chatter and business; the rain washing away their usual day by day routine.

Her fingers tightened around the mug in her hands as she brought it to her lips. The water trickled down the street like the coffee dripped down her throat and Beca felt content and thankful all at once. An unexpected thunderstorm had completely changed her quiet Saturday afternoon for the better.

Because a storm gave her an excuse.

It gave her a reason to come over.

And for that, Beca was more than thankful.

The last time they spoke, things had quickly gotten out of hand. The words that should have carried weight and meaningfulness were spat out without a second thought; tears slipped down Chloe's cheeks and a lump formed in Beca's throat.

"You're going to leave me here, alone."

When Beca uttered that sentence she had no idea it would end their interaction the way it did – with Beca running home and leaving Chloe emotionally crumpled on the sidewalk.

"Beca, you aren't being fair."

They were yelled behind her as Beca quickly planted one foot in front of the other as quickly as she could. She didn't care to stop or look over her shoulder at her best friend sobbing in the street – Beca just ran faster, away from the root of her pain.

XXX

Chloe was leaning forward from the couch and running her finger over the trackpad of Beca's laptop sitting on the table beside her. The music stopped and resumed, the soft and quiet beat of a new song filling the garage.

"Do you think it will pass soon?" she asked, nudging Beca with her foot.

The brunette looked up from her phone, settling her attention on the redhead who was almost sat on her, "Why, is my company that bad?"

Chloe nestled further into the sofa, resting the majority of her body on Beca's legs with a smile, "Well, at least the music is half decent."

Beca threw her phone on the couch cushion with a smile, her hand instinctively resting on Chloe's knee. The redhead sunk even further into Beca's warmth with a smile of her own, the pitter patter of the rain still audible over the music filling her best friend's garage.

Chloe had known Beca for forever – perhaps that was inaccurate considering their one-year age difference, but Chloe can't really remember much of her first year on this planet. It felt strange to think she was able to function without Beca by her side.

To everyone else Beca Mitchell was an enigma but to Chloe she was someone else; caring, sensitive, warm, and above everything someone she could always relay on. Which explains why they are currently cooped up in Beca's garage watching the storm unfold through the open doors.

When they were younger, Beca feared the lightning and the loud claps of thunder that followed with it. Chloe would always rush over to Beca's house across the street no matter the time and engulf her in a hug, promising everything was going to be OK.

Now they were older, Beca was no longer scared but they still found themselves huddled on this very sofa in Beca's garage watching the rain dance on the sidewalk - Chloe had deemed it "their thing" much to Beca's forced annoyance.

"You know; I could just throw you out in the rain" Beca teased with the raise of an eyebrow.

The corners of Chloe's mouth upturned into a smile, "Yeah and I could drag you with me, so…" she sighed out thoughtfully.

As if already aware of the cogs turning inside her head, Beca sat up and shot her a stern look, "Don't even think about it, Beale."

Chloe laughed, "You're no fun."

"Yeah, well at least the music is half decent" Beca retorted with a smirk, wriggling her legs from under Chloe's and planting them on the floor.

"So, how are you feeling about graduation?" the brunette asked, her eyes fixed on Chloe's front door across the street.

The redhead brought her legs to her chest and let out a sigh as she rested her chin on her knees.

Graduation.

It was a sore subject for both of them – an unwelcomed reminder of their futures. Chloe had applied for colleges. All of them had great facilities and gleaming recommendations, however, the majority of them were out of state, some on the other side of the country and Beca still had a year of high school to complete before venturing out to LA in order to kick start her music career.

The question was heavy between them, creating a thickness of silence in the air. It was the first time Beca had ever brought it up and Chloe was beginning to think her best friend never would – if she was being honest, Beca's outright bluntness of it caught her off guard.

"Scared."

Beca's eyes found Chloe's, her expression unreadable.

"Excited" she breathed out shakily. She lifted her head from her knees watching Beca's gaze drop to the floor.

"Torn" she stated flatly, dropping her own head down with a bigger sigh.

After a few seconds of silence, Beca turned on the couch, crossing her legs in front of her and finally maintaining eye contact with the worried blue's staring back at her.

"Have you heard back from any colleges yet?"

Beca smiled slightly; Chloe could tell it was forced but appreciated the kindness of it.

"Yeah, a few."

"Well that's great!"

The fact that she didn't even have to confirm any more details was a testament to the belief Beca always had in her.

"Any college would be lucky to have you, Chlo."

Beca's smile was less forced now, but it didn't quite reach her eyes.

The feeling of dread was nestling in the redhead's stomach again, like it always did when she thought about leaving Beca. The tears were forming in the corner of her eyes and with Beca looking at her the way she was; Chloe wasn't sure she could keep them at bay.

She untangled herself and rested on her knees, arms reaching for Beca. As she felt familiar hands secure themselves on her hips and pull her closer, Chloe felt the tears trickle down her cheeks. They stayed like that for a moment with the soft claps of thunder echoing from the distance.

"You have to pursue your dreams, Chloe" was mumbled into the crook of her neck, causing more tears to full and a quiet sniffle to be pressed into her shoulder.

"Besides you're much better than this shitty town."

Beca was pulling back with a watery smile of her own, settling back into the couch and pulling Chloe into her side. The brunette busied her hands by playing with Chloe's fingers resting in her lap, a tell-tale sign Beca Mitchell was trying to "keep her shit together."

"It'll be OK" Beca sighed out unsteadily with a quick squeeze of her best friend's shoulders.

A comfortable silence fell over them before Chloe had a thought.

"Well this is ironic."

Beca stilled her hands and waited for the redhead to continue.

"All these years I was the one telling you it was going to be OK during storms" she chuckled.

XXX

Beca had her eyes fixed on the window of the house above the street. No matter how much she squinted or tilted her head, she still couldn't make out the desk she knew was sat in front of Chloe's window. She found her hand twitching to unlock her phone; an overwhelming urge to check the time and messages because the storm started twenty minutes ago and Chloe still wasn't here.

There was a flash of lightening.

"One Mississippi… two Mississippi…"

"Three Mississippi"

Chloe was stepping out by the side of garage, her hair dripping with the rain. Beca blinked, unable to continue the count. The redhead stood just shy of shelter, her tee absorbed the rain as the pair maintain each other's gaze. The silence was broken abruptly by a sound of thunder, startling them both and causing the hot coffee in Beca's hand to spill onto her jeans.

"I didn't know if you'd come" Beca mumbled quietly, causing Chloe to finally step into the garage and out of the rain.

"Always."

It was supposed to be reassuring but Beca couldn't help but feel a twinge of bitterness.

"Don't make promises you can't keep, Chloe."

Her words were spoken like they were three nights ago a couple of yards further down the sidewalk. Beca was really hoping for a reconciliation, but once again she was letting her emotions get the better of her. Chloe had a life to lead and dreams to pursue; the forced positivity of the past few months had worn thin a while ago and now all that was left was the selfishness Beca hated herself for feeling.

Chloe was her best friend, someone who had been a constant fixture in her life from the moment she can remember. Beca wasn't sure she had the strength to cope without her best friend for a year. The fear of losing touch and drifting apart that followed was enough to break her.

"Beca, I don't want to fight."

"It's really hard to pretend to be happy for you now…" she trailed off, her fingers tightening around her mug before she continued, "…now graduation is next week."

Chloe let out a sigh, her shoulders visibly slumping before making her way over to Beca on the couch.

"Is that why you never asked what school I chose?"

Beca placed her coffee on the concrete floor by her foot in order to momentarily distract herself.

"Yes and no."

When her best friend didn't say anything, Beca spoke again.

"I thought ignoring it would make things easier and I thought if we didn't talk about it, graduation would just never come around" she sighed out, realising how stupid that sounded now she'd actually said it aloud.

A hand found its way on to her knee; Chloe's familiar touch easing the difficulty she had articulating her feelings and urging to carry on.

"I want you to go because you deserve everything you want in life, Chlo. I'm both happy and proud of you for having the courage to leave everything you've ever known in this town and make it on your own."

With each word Beca was growing surer and confident – this was what she tried to say a few days ago but failed. Her pause gave Chloe a chance to interject but Beca was cutting her off, finally allowing her mind to entertain the thought of her best friend leaving her behind through no fault of her own.

"But selfishly I don't want you to go because I'm scared we'll lose touch and things will never be the way they were again."

Before she could wipe away the stray tear on her left cheek, the pad of Chloe's thumb was gently swiping it away with a sad smile on her face.

"That will never happen, Becs. Never."

Chloe's words were punctuated with the squeeze of her hand and Beca was pulling her into a hug; similar to the "bone crushing" hugs she had experienced from Chloe over the years. It was a tight embrace; one they both needed.

"You're more than just a best friend to me, Beca. We'll never lose touch, I promise."

The redhead's breath ghosted over the shell of her ear and the words resonated deep within because they were what she needed to hear the most right now and of course Chloe always knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. In fact, thinking about it Chloe was the only person that had the ability to rid Beca of any fear or worry; she was the only one Beca would happily drop anything for; Beca would literally do anything for her because she loved her.

It was then Beca was shrugging out of their embrace and gently resting her lips on Chloe's. The redhead was always more than a friend to her too, but she knew kissing her best friend now created even bigger complications than just graduation.

Before her mind could catch up with her, Beca was desperately working her lips over Chloe's, her hands pulling at the wet fabric of her t-shirt. The storm was forgotten, the sound of the rain trickling down the gutter fading out as Beca felt Chloe's hand wrap around her neck and pull her even closer.

The brunette let Chloe's kiss ease the worry in her mind, allowing herself to forget about everything that came along with the fear of Chloe's graduation and just get lost in how right this all felt.

Then Chloe was pulling away slowly, leaving one last chaste kiss before resting their foreheads together with a smile. The butterflies in her stomach and the tingling sensation on her lips almost made Beca's vision blur; a sheer happiness washed over her, fighting off the impending anguish and heartache that was sure to come.

"I think I've waited for that kiss all my life" Chloe whispered, her tone equal parts happy and sad.

Beca sighed, unable to pull away just yet, "I'm very last minute, you should know this by now."

It was her attempt at humour and the smile it elicited from her best friend made Beca feel like everything would work itself out eventually.

"I'm going to UCLA" Chloe searched Beca's eyes, seeking any hint of a reaction. When she didn't, Chloe wet her lips and spoke again.

"We'll make it through the year and then you'll be in LA, with me."

XXX