Title:Rewrite The Ending
Summary:"You can pretend that I'm not even here, if it will keep your conscience clear." Beca Mitchell only knows heartache; she keeps her walls up and her life closed. So what happens when the person who caused all of this appears in her life again? Can Beca handle it, or will she ultimately shut down?
Rating:M
A/N: Here's the next installment, a lengthy chapter at that, but it covers a lot of ground. Anyway, sorry it's a little past 24 hours. I live in Denver, and we had that stupid Broncos parade for the Super Bowl and I literally could not get home in time to post this. I'm excited for the next chapter because you get to hear the surprise.
Beca listens to the words Chloe is singing as she sits quietly backstage, thoughts filling her mind. Beca doesn't know what to do anymore. Yeah, she still loves the fiery redhead, but Chloe broke her heart and she didn't know if she could dish it out this time. Beca wished that Chloe would have fought for her, and not sung an array of songs to apologize and try to get Beca to come running back to her.
Things will be different, Beca tells herself as she stands up, heading for the exit of the auditorium. She's so caught up in her thoughts that she doesn't realize the body moving towards her. Beca hits the ground, an "oof" emitting from her mouth before looking up and seeing none other than Chloe.
"Beca..."
Beca glares at Chloe and in a harsh tone replies, "You going to stand there, Beale, or are you going to help me the fuck up?"
Chloe stays silent, taking in Beca's angry demeanor, a side of the brunette she had never seen before. She extends her hand towards Beca who groans loudly as she pushes herself off the ground, ignoring Chloe's hand.
"Sorry." Was all that fell from Chloe's lips.
"You're awfully good at saying it, not so much at showing it." Beca scoffs. Beca didn't mean to be so rude towards the redhead, but it was a defense mechanism she used after their break up. Beca stares at her ex for what seems like an eternity. After a moment of silence, Beca turns around and starts to walk away.
"Beca, wait!" Chloe screams, and Beca cringes remembering the last time Chloe said that to her in the airport. She shakes it off and keeps walking. "I had no idea you felt that way!" Chloe exclaims. Beca stops dead her tracks, turns on her heel and starts angrily heading towards Chloe.
"You..." Beca growls while pointing her finger at the redhead. "You had NO idea? I begged you not to leave me there and you did. You fucking left me to die, Chloe! I didn't have a choice and you left me. You didn't ask me to stay, or to try and convince my dad I was better in LA with you. You blamed my insecurities when I told you the move was temporary. You did nothing but fucking tear me to pieces!"
Chloe stares at Beca with wide eyes, trying to gather her composure and deal with the new Beca she was faced with. She swallows loudly as Beca continues screaming at her.
"Tell me, Beale, was it fucking worth it!?"
"No..." Chloe replies softly. "I regretted not asking you to stay. I regretted not chasing you. I didn't mean to push you away and blame you for all of this. Truth is, I was scared."
Beca scoffs loudly. "YOU, you were scared?" Beca's voice was laced with sarcasm.
"I was scared of falling more in love with you and then losing you because of the distance. I was scared that I'd make a mistake and it'd hurt worse than leaving you already did. Beca, you were my world, and it shattered the day you left, too. You can't possibly believe you're the only one who got hurt out of this. I did, also." Chloe grits her teeth, feeling the anxiety and anger fill her veins.
Beca stands there, silent, taking in all that Chloe just said. But before she could speak, Chloe continued.
"You were the one, Beca. You've always been the one. And I know apologizing won't cut it. I know my stupid set list of songs won't fix things. But I had to try and make you see how much I meant it. How much I still care and how much I wish we could have rewritten our ending."
"If you wanted that so much, you should have fucking talked to me about it, not ignored me for the past year." Beca says, eyes narrowing at Chloe.
"You changed your number, ignored my emails. What the hell else could I have done?"
"You could have told me to stay."
"Beca, oh my fucking God, I made a mistake. I'm only fucking human." Chloe's angry tone simmers down and she inhales deeply. "I ran away from my problems. I blamed you. I was a shitty person, I get that. But it doesn't change that I love you."
Beca goes to interrupt Chloe, but stops as soon as the three words fall from behind her teeth. Chloe said she loves her, and it wasn't in the past tense. Beca feels her emotions whirling at the confession, but tries to keep her cool.
"Chloe, you destroyed me." Beca says barely above a whisper.
"I know." Chloe says as her anger settles. "I know that now."
"I don't know if I'll ever be able to trust you, again." Beca's eyes fall to the floor as she kicks the ground. "Which is why I've decided to leave."
"What do you mean? Leave where?" Chloe doesn't want to stand the thought of Beca leaving again, not when they maybe had a shot at fixing things.
"I'm going back to LA. Remember that kid we met in LA? Jesse?" Chloe nods and Beca's not quite sure why she's explaining this to the redhead. "Well, he's a producer for a record label and he found me after my song and wants to sign me for a single, then an album. I'm going back for a few months before deciding if I want to stay there." Beca explains, rubbing the back of her neck and still avoiding eye contact with Chloe.
"You.. What?" Chloe asks in disbelief.
"For once, Chloe, I need to be the one to walk away from things." Beca finally looks up at Chloe. "Take care." Beca presses her lips together in a small smile before turning around to walk away. "Oh, and please don't show up at the airport... Again. I don't know if I can handle that."
And with that, Beca Mitchell was gone.
xxx
Three Months Later; LA
Beca stepped out of her car and breathed the LA air in. She really missed being in this city, and was glad that she was back. If only I could have stayed the first time, Beca thinks. She tips her sunglasses to look at her phone, noticing that it was almost time for her meeting with Jesse.
She stops and thinks of everything that lead her back to the City of Angels. After the talent show, Beca left Barden and hopped on an airplane back to LAX. As soon as she stepped foot in the city, all of the emotion and heartbreak seemed to lift out her body. Beca left Chloe, and now that she was back in LA, she felt guilty for shutting down and running away. But this was her dream, and it was all about to come true. In the last three months, Beca's single "You Ruin Me" had almost made the Top 10 charts. For an artist who composed everything by herself, and refused to join a label that would have free reign of her material, Beca had finally done what she wanted for years; make it in LA. And to be frank, she had Chloe to thank for this. If it wasn't for the extreme heartbreak, writing her song, seeing Chloe, playing her song at a talent show, and being discovered by Jesse, none of this would have happened.
Her cell phone rings and she doesn't take the chance to look at it before answering.
"This is Beca Mitchell." She says professionally into the receiver.
"Wow, so professional, Becs," she hears the voice of Aubrey ring through her ears. "How is LA treating you?"
"Great. Finally got my shit together! My song is almost on the Top 10 Charts. Which is crazy because no one even knows who the fuck I am!" Beca laughs. Aubrey was glad that her best friend sounded a lot happier. "But I'm doing one of those 'periscope' YouTube sessions, where people can talk to me, get to know me... You going to tune in?"
"I wouldn't miss it for the world, Mitchell. But that's not why I called. I called to tell you that the Barden Bellas made nationals, so we'll be in LA in a few days and I want to spend time with you." Beca's breathing hitched at the revelation that Chloe would be in LA, again, where it all started. In fact, Beca was standing in front of the bar that she first met Chloe in. "Beca? You there? Heeelllloooo?"
"Yeah, sorry. I'd love to see you, Bree. You know that." Beca replies, shaking her thoughts.
"Beca, are you ever going to forgive yourself?" Aubrey said out of nowhere.
"I already have..." Beca tries to lie to herself
"You're not fooling anyone."
"Wh-" Beca starts but is immediately cut off.
"Beca, you did exactly what Chloe did to you. You left her, and she was a wreck when you left the auditorium." Aubrey sighs. "I don't get you two. I thought that you'd at least try and be civil about things."
"I forgive her, Aubrey... I just..."
"You feel bad for what you did." God damn it, Posen. Stop being so good. "I knew you wanted her back. And I know how hard it was for you to be the one to walk away. But Beca, she really loves you."
"I know," Beca exhales loudly. "I know she loves me and I love her, but is that really enough?"
"If you actually tried." Aubrey deadpans. Beca knows her best friend is right. After three months away from Georgia, Beca finally forgave Chloe. Maybe not vocally, but her heart was at ease knowing that they were both to blame for the downfall of their relationship. Beca did want Chloe back, she just thought it was too far gone.
"Speaking of trying... DID YOU EVEN LISTEN TO MY NEW SINGLE? I SENT IT TO YOU." Beca presses.
"Nope, was waiting to see you to hear it. I mean, it's dropping in a few days right?" Aubrey asks and Beca hums in agreement.
"It's about her, you know."
"Oh, I know. Well, I figured. I'm glad to see you happy, again, Beca. I'm sure when she hears it, she'll come crying to me... But if there's one thing I learned since you've been in LA, it's that it'll be tears of happiness."
"Well, you know I'm terrible at talking about my feelings. I forgive her, Aubrey, I really do." Beca repeats. "Being back in LA made me realize what I've been missing all along, and it's her." Beca sighs.
"Then you need to win her back!" Aubrey yells. "I'll help you."
Beca rolls her eyes, pulling her phone away to check the time and realized that she was almost late for her meeting.
"Yeah, yeah. Another grand plan from the Posen poster child." Beca laughs. "I got to go, though. I'll talk to you later."
The best friends say their goodbyes and Beca hangs up, shoving the phone in her front pocket. She looks at the bar, and sighs loudly before walking in. This is where it all began.
Two Years Ago; LA, Revolver
Beca stands outside of Revolver, a gay bar on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles. She still couldn't believe she was in this city. She pulls out her fake ID and shows it to the bouncer, who gives her a once over before pointing towards the door.
Beca shakes off her nerves and heads in, noticing the mass amounts of bodies filling the club, moving in sync. She instantly goes to the bar and orders a few shots before scanning the dance floor with her eyes.
The bartender signals that her shots are ready and she knocks them back with ease before settling for a Jack and Coke. As she swiftly chugs her drink, she continues looking around, wondering if she'd find anyone, tonight.
Beca could feel the full effects of the alcohol taking over her body. Thank god for fake IDs, she thought. As she looks around the bar, she spots a redheaded girl staring at her. Beca smirks as she gains the confidence and struts over to the girl.
"Hey," Beca smiles at the girl. "My name is Beca."
"Chloe," The bubbly ginger laughs. "You're cute, Beca."
"I… uh… Well…" Beca stumbles over her words and internally beats herself up for sounding like a bumbling idiot. "Thanks." Was all she managed to get out cohesively.
"So what brings a cute thing like you here?" Chloe questions.
Beca, starting to feel uneasy like she does around all new people, looks around the bar before her eyes meet Chloe's blue ones. "Thinking about moving out here." The answer was simple and short, not giving away too much information about herself to this complete stranger, no matter how captivating she was. The ocean blue eyes of Chloe look Beca up and down, and Beca gulped loudly.
"You should," Chloe whispers softly into Beca's ear, causing goosebumps to raise on the short brunette's arms. Beca turns to look at Chloe, falling deep into her trance. Before she knows it, lips are crashing against her.
Beca enters Revolver and immediately flashes her ID at the bartender and orders a beer before spotting Jesse at a booth. She walks over and sits down across the table from him.
"Out of all the bars in Los Angeles, you chose this one." Beca says bluntly.
"Well, it's where I met you. And it's where your career technically started." Jesse replies with a smirk.
"Yeah, yeah. Just... Wow, the memories." Beca exhales.
"I know. Speaking of, I knew I picked a good candidate for our label. It's small, but you got so much media attention with your first single." Jesse reaches over the table and places his hand over Beca's. "I know this place holds a lot of memories for you, but after hearing your new song, I'm so proud of you. You've grown so much since we met, and you used your past to create music everyone can relate to."
"Thanks, bro." Beca chuckles. "But why are we here?"
"To remind you to never lose your roots. This bar, meeting Chloe here... It made you the Beca you are, today. I wanted to remind you of that." Jesse explains.
"You're right."
"So, you forgive her?"
"Does no one listen to my lyrics?" Beca groans loudly. "I sent the single to Aubrey before it drops and she refuses to even listen to it!"
"No, I did. But did you mean it?"
"Of course, I meant it. She ruined me, yes. She destroyed my life, yes. But if I didn't house my insecurities in her instead of try to get over them, we would have never broken up. It took a year and a half, but I want to try again... You know, if she'd want that after what I did." Beca looks around the bar, feeling a weight being lifted off of her shoulders.
"I want to help." Jesse states. "You've become a great friend, Beca, and I want you to be happy. Not just as your manager or your producer, but as your friend."
"Thanks, Jesse. I appreciate it." Beca smiles sincerely, which is rare for her. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, I've been talking to your friend Aubrey..."
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