A/N: I want to thank the people that favorited, followed & reviewed my story. It's a delightful ego boost and some pretty solid motivation to keep writing, which I definitely plan to keep doing. I'm glad you guys are liking my take on this tale. I like it too. I'm gonna stop talking but I want to say again that daily updates probably will not keep on being a thing. Story is just really in my head right now, you know? Anyway, thanks again guys and enjoy!
III.
There is a certain little quirk about Beca Mitchell that is the bane of the tiny DJ's existence.
When she's in her "genesis phase" as Stiles likes to call it, you can have a full blown conversation with her and she won't realize until later. The DJ gets so absorbed in planning her beats and mashing up songs that she doesn't really process that someone is speaking to her, instead letting her mouth run on auto-pilot.
The same thing happens when she's studying something intently or in deep concentration. She gets lost in her head and it takes a while for her to find her way back out.
She had to make both John and Stiles promise not to ask her personal questions when she gets like that because her brain-to-mouth filter goes off line and she'll truthfully answer whatever you ask her. She reasoned that it's unfair to pump her for information when she's defenseless to stop it. Both agreed, though Stiles still talks to her about superheroes when she's mixing because it's the only time she'll acknowledge her secret adoration for comics.
(Shut up Stiles, you're still geekier.)
So it doesn't surprise the brunette when nine hours after she got back to her dorm from the activities fair, she suddenly recalls the conversation she doesn't quite remember having with the Bellas co-captains. The DJ groans and slams her head on the table as she remembers what she said to the seniors because really, Mitchell? When in the hell did you become more awkward then Stiles?
She thinks back to the conversation and tries to remember if it really was as bad as she thinks it was.
She's 99.98% sure it was.
"Hi! Do you want to join our a cappella group?"
Beca stares blankly at the flyer in her face, still focused on the combination she's working out in her head. Her fingers tap to the tempo, twitching in unison to her thought process. Her eyes absently trace a path from the hand holding the flyer to the tanned arm it belongs to, to an equally tanned shoulder, neck, face – really pretty face and wow, those are some gorgeous sparkling blue eyes right there.
The DJ's hands still as her attention is momentarily diverted from her mix idea to focus on the perky redhead in front of her, who's everything is almost as beautiful as her cerulean eyes. The brunette looks behind the redhead and briefly locks gazes with emerald orbs that belong to a blonde who's just as stunning as her redheaded companion.
Beca only has time to fleetingly appreciate their beauty and note that they're wearing matching uniforms before her attention is dragged back to the music inside her mind and her hands start drumming against her thigh once more.
She watches idly as the redhead's mouth starts moving again and the small part of her brain that isn't obsessing over should she use The Proclaimers or Ed Sheeran? realizes that the senior (and she has to be a senior because her and her friend both look at least 21) is asking her a question, for the second time if Beca's not mistaken.
Which actually, Beca might be. For all the brunette knows the redhead is yelling at her to move. Except the tone of voice isn't right and the senior seems curious and maybe a little concerned – but not angry. And for some reason, Beca doesn't like the fact that this cheerful girl sounds worried at all. She likes even less that she's the one causing the worry. So through a herculean effort, Beca manages to divert enough brain power to actually decipher what the redhead is saying.
"Hey, are you alright?"
Ha! Beca thinks to herself triumphantly, proud that she figured it out. Oh, wait she actually wants an answer. Hold up, okay… ummm….
"Fine." Beca responds and the small part of her brain that's still aware of what's going on around her dryly notes that the DJ's response was about a minute too late to sound normal, so good job on that.
"Are you sure? You seem a little out of it." the redhead asks still sounding worried, but less so. Beca's mouth answers and her brain elects to give it free reign to function by itself. Her mind is too busy with which part of Titanium do I want to blend? Just the chorus or should I slip some of the verses in there too?
"That's probably because I am." Beca says absently but truthfully. She takes the flyer from the redhead and stares at it until the words make sense. "A cappella, huh?" she remarks a little later. "That's a thing now, right?"
"Oh, totes!" the redhead exclaims, still eyeing the brunette with concern but apparently decides that Beca is okay enough that the redhead can talk about her singing group. "We do covers of music but without any instruments. It's all from our mouths."
"Yikes." is all the DJ responds with, still absorbed with puzzling out the best transition and misses the redheads explanation of the a cappella groups on campus, only catching that there's four of them and their group is called the Bellas. Beca nods along when the girl stops talking; not processing that she's expected to give a response.
She misses the way the two seniors exchange a look as the brunette stares past them into space.
"Dude, that's so lame!" the DJ exclaims suddenly.
"Aca-scuse me?" the blonde demands, sounding faintly amused and a little insulted. Beca's attention jerks back to the two Bellas as if just realizing they were still there.
"What?" the brunette says confused. A few spare synapses fire and Beca shakes her head frantically. "Oh no, not you two. Me."
"You're so lame?" the blonde asks, definitely amused this time. Beca nods a couple times.
"Yup. More like my brain then me, though. Except my brain is me so I guess I do mean me instead of my brain but that sounds bad so maybe I don't mean me. Hey, which transition sounds better?" Beca starts humming two different tunes then looks expectantly at the seniors, both of whom look like they're at a loss.
"Uh, the first one?" The redhead ventures unsurely and Beca just looks thoughtful.
"You're definitely right, the second makes much more sense in context." She beams at them briefly, happy that two parts of her song now fit together; completely missing the dubious yet somehow fond looks on both girls' faces.
She suddenly registers the fact that the two girls in front of her are absolutely stunning. And nice! They were so nice to her. Beca's brain (not really with it and still half way submerged in chord progressions and bass beats) decides it has never been more important that she compliments both of them right this instant.
"You guys are really, really pretty. Did you know that? And it was really sweet of you to help me with my transition; it was giving me some trouble." Beca says earnestly, a dimpled smile emerging on her face.
The redhead looks flattered but the blonde just stares at her in amused disbelief. "Are you high right now?" The blonde asks seriously and Beca stares at her, startled. The DJ quirks an eyebrow and gives her a look that clearly says no, are you?
"Why would you ask that?" The DJ questions, for the first time fully engaged in the conversation. The seniors seem a taken back by the brunette's sudden focus.
"Because you've been a space cadet since you started talking to us?" the blonde replies in a matter-of-fact tone of voice. There's a beat of silence before a look of comprehension dawns across the brunette DJ's face and she shrugs sheepishly.
"Sorry about that. Get lost up here, you know?" Beca taps her temple and gives an awkward grin. The seniors smile understandingly in return.
"We get it." The redhead reassures the younger girl. "It's hard to tune back in once inspiration lights you up." The blonde nods in agreement. Yet both girls look bewildered once again when the brunette suddenly exclaims "That's such a great idea!"
Beca unknowingly ignores their twin looks of confusion at her outburst, mind already intently focused on figuring out what a mash-up between Fall Out Boy's Light 'em Up and Imagine Dragon's Radioactive might sound like. Short answer? Awesome.
The tiny part of her brain that still understands social cues realizes that she's being rude again and that she probably won't be able to hold another conversation (if you could even call her random and rambling answers that) and so scrambles to find a way to smoothly exit the whatever she's doing with the pair of seniors right now.
"So right, a cappella. That's singing right?" Beca transitions awfully. Both girls nod, seemingly bemused with the DJ at this point. "Well, I haven't sung since the fire burned my lungs. So, sorry that I can't join your singing group. But thanks anyway for offering. It was really nice to meet you two!" Beca absently smiles at them once more and gives a happy wave before walking purposefully back towards Baker Hall.
Her exit wasn't exactly smooth as silk (more like rough polyester) but it did its job so Beca doesn't really care. Besides the DJ is still too focused on deciding which intro she wants to use in her mash-up.
She pauses a step when a brilliant idea hits her. Why not use both!
Beca grins and almost sprints back to her dorm, mind overflowing with ideas and fingers practically screaming to be let loose on her turntables. This is going to be awesome!
That was so not awesome. Beca groans and slams her head against the desk a couple more times because she's a spastic idiot and it makes her feel better.
God, Beca should not have tried to talk to those girls. All that happened was she rambled stupidly, embarrassed herself in front of two of the sexiest girls she'd ever met (seriously, why did Beca feel the need to inform them that they were really, really pretty?), plus divulged really personal information that she'd rather never think about. Ever.
(The fire was arguably the worst thing to ever happen to her in her life and considering the brunette's track record for terrible occurrences, that's saying something)
The only positive things Beca got from that entire encounter are two new finished tracks and three works-in-progress. She makes a mental note to never think about mixes near people, like, ever again. All it leads to is pain and humiliation.
But she thinks she'd like to talk to those girls again. Beca really wasn't there mentally for a majority of their conversation but she knows she likes them. Both of them. There was an odd sort of connection the DJ felt but wasn't aware of until just now when she was thinking about their interaction.
It's fleeting right now, intangible. But the brunette is sure that it's because she wasn't actually paying attention, not really. She's equally sure that if she ever meets them again, that feeling that pulls at the DJ will solidify enough for Beca to identify it.
Beca thinks she'll like that. She really thinks she'll enjoy getting to know those girls better.
With that thought in mind, Beca clicks out of iTunes and shuts down her laptop. She picks up a weathered copy of the Bourne Identity from her desk and is ambling over to her bed when a depressing thought crosses her mind. Barden is a big campus. I might not even see them again.
The brunette notices the pang of disappointment at the thought. Guess they mean more to me than I thought. Huh. Beca makes the executive decision to think about it later and settles down over her comforters to read, easily tuning out the soft snores of Kimmy Jin sleeping across the room.
Her clock reads 3:42 AM.
IV.
Hours ago, back at the activities fair…
"Do you know what just happened?" Chloe asks watching the retreating back of the small brunette disappear into the crowd.
"Not a clue." Aubrey replies with a smile. The entire encounter with the brunette had been bizarre and Aubrey's still partially convinced the girl had been on something. That's not to say it wasn't enjoyable. The brunette was funny and cute, even if she obviously didn't mean to be.
Though, that last comment she made worries her. A fire that burned her lungs? For some reason, Aubrey doesn't like the thought that the small brunette was ever in that kind of pain. She feels a sudden protectiveness over this girl and doesn't quite understand why.
She's not someone Aubrey would usually talk with. The girl looked a little more alternative than Aubrey was used to, with all that eyeliner and those ear monstrosities. But she was so sweet and adorable despite how out of it she was acting. And her eyes! God, her eyes were beautiful, almost like staring up at the night sky. Aubrey could practically see the ideas shining through navy irises like stars.
Aubrey thinks about the way the girl was so lost to her own thoughts and finds it adorable, especially since those thoughts were apparently about music. The brunette also has a decent singing voice, if those few hummed bars were anything to go by. Aubrey hopes that the girl's voice isn't as damaged as the brunette seems to think it is. The blonde is sure that it'll be as pretty as she is.
"Do you really think she can't sing?" Chloe asks, apparently having similar thoughts to the blonde. The redhead turns sad puppy eyes on Aubrey and speaks earnestly. "It's just, her voice sounded really good from the little we heard. And she's so adorable, Bree! Do you remember how she complimented us? It was like she had to make sure we knew how awesome she thought we were." The redhead smiles wistfully. "I just want to get to know her better. I mean, we don't even know her name! If she joined the Bellas, we'd definitely get to hang out or something."
"I know what you mean, Chlo. I really like her to." Aubrey says with a smile of her own. But she soon sighs, running a hand through blonde tresses. "But Chloe, you're pre-med; you know how bad smoke inhalation can be."
Chloe nods sadly because she does. Smoke inhalation wreaks havoc on your lungs. Depending on how bad the burns were, it could be a miracle that the girl is breathing at all. It doesn't change how much Chloe wants to hear the brunette sing and if anything, it makes her want to know even more about the brunette. The girl pulls at Chloe's interest more than anything has in a while.
Aubrey sees the frown on Chloe's face and winces. Making Chloe feel bad is like kicking a puppy. You feel horrible for doing it.
She leans over and gives the redhead a quick hug. "Chin up, Chlo. She's walking and talking so it couldn't have been that bad. Bedsides, Barden isn't all that big. We'll almost certainly be seeing her again."
Chloe returns the hug and gives the blonde a thankful grin, back to her cheerful self. "Yeah, you're right Bree. I'm sure we'll run into her, Bella or no."
The blonde smiles back softly then returns to scanning the crowds, searching for girls who look like they're decent singers and not a complete train wreck visually. Aubrey knows that Chloe advised her that they should just be focusing on the girls voices and she will, but the blonde has plans to get back to the ICCA's – both to uphold tradition and to prove herself after last year's debacle. And the sad truth is that a decent portion of success relies on looks.
It doesn't mean Aubrey is going to dismiss a girl entirely because she didn't have a bikini ready body. It just means that having one is an added bonus.
Chloe watches Aubrey watch the crowd and bites her lip thoughtfully, mind still on the brunette girl from earlier. She meant what she said about wanting to know her. Something about that girl called to Chloe and the redhead is certain that Aubrey felt the same pull. She could hear it in the amusement in the blonde's voice when she talked to the brunette.
Aubrey is always pretty aloof towards strangers and is downright rude to anyone who insults her passion towards a cappella, save her father. The fact that she didn't bite the brunette's head off for calling it lame (even if she didn't mean to) tells Chloe that Aubrey likes something about the smaller girl.
Chloe also noticed the small hitch in Aubrey's breath when the brunette locked gazes with the blonde, noticed the way Aubrey's eyes darkened a shade or two. Not that Chloe could blame her. The alt-girls navy blue orbs were definitely something else.
The redhead wonders if she should feel jealous that the brunette captured the other senior's attention so easily. After all, Aubrey was her girlfriend.
The two of them had been best friends since elementary school when the overly bubbly redheaded daughter of a horse rancher made it her mission to befriend the stiff blonde only child of Georgia's newest House Representative. They had clicked almost instantly and stayed inseparable all throughout their school years, even attending the same University.
The pair didn't start dating until halfway through their freshman year when Chloe had a drunken breakdown, professing her love for her best friend then started crying because she knew Aubrey was straight, she knew the blonde didn't love her like that and she didn't want to destroy their friendship but Chloe just couldn't keep it to herself anymore.
Aubrey simply held her while she cried. The next morning when a then miserably sober Chloe entered the kitchen of their off campus apartment (Aubrey's father was now Senator Posen and refused to let his daughter stay in a dorm), Aubrey handed her two aspirin and a glass of water then kissed her until they both couldn't breathe. When they broke apart, Aubrey coyly told a dumbstruck Chloe that she'd wanted to do that for years.
Even if they've kept their relationship on the down low (neither of them are sure how it would go over with Senator Posen and neither wants to deal with his reaction, especially when they're so happy just being them), the past three and a half years have been the best of both their lives. Chloe knows that what she has with Aubrey is forever. The redhead can't imagine a future where the blonde isn't right there by her side and she knows that Aubrey feels the same way.
But Chloe also knows that there is something about that brunette that draws both of them in. And Chloe can't find it within herself to feel jealous or guilty about that. Even though they talked to the younger girl for maybe ten minutes, Chloe feels an ache when she realizes she might never see the brunette again. Ten minutes and an odd conversation made an unusually strong, very positive impression.
The redhead bites her lip, trying to think of the best way to approach this with Aubrey. She will never leave the blonde and knows the Aubrey will never leave her. But Chloe can't deny her attraction to the brunette, either. She just hopes that she's right and Aubrey feels the same way too.
"Hey, Bree?" Chloe starts hesitantly. The blonde turns and lifts a questioning eyebrow at the redheads tone. It's not like Chloe to sound nervous.
"What's up, kit?" Aubrey asks, using her pet name for the redhead. A baby fox always seemed to perfectly match Chloe's personality.
The corners of the shorter senior's lips twitch but her nervousness doesn't abate. "You remember that talk we had a couple weeks ago? After we finished watching Bridget Jones' Diary?"
Aubrey did remember. It had been a lighthearted conversation, really. Chloe could never choose between Mark and Daniel for Bridget to end up with in the end. So the last time they watched the movie, Aubrey playfully suggested Bridget just date the both of them. Chloe jumped on the idea eagerly and the pair spent the next hour trying to figure out how a relationship like that would work and if they thought they could ever do something like that.
It had been a joking conversation then but now….
Luckily for Chloe, the blonde understands immediately what the redhead is trying to suggest. Her eyebrows furrow. Truthfully, she's glad Chloe brought it up. Aubrey had been lost at thought about the small brunette as well. The longer she thought about the brunette, the more Aubrey realized what she was feeling was an attraction towards the younger girl. The blonde had been feeling guilty about it because she loved Chloe with everything she had but for some inexplicable reason Aubrey wants so badly to get to know the brunette, to be able to touch her and make her laugh.
And if Chloe feels the same way…
"We'll talk later kit, okay?" Aubrey says. She watches the redheads face fall and frowns. She grabs Chloe's hand and squeezes until the other senior meets her eyes. "But yes." Aubrey watches, faintly amused as the redheads eyes light up in relief, happy that Aubrey isn't taking it the wrong way. "We'll have to talk about it" the blonde continues seriously and is glad to see Chloe's agreeing nod. "We'll have to talk about it and we'll definitely have to get to know her better. But yes. I think I'd like that if you do."
Chloe nods earnestly. "I would, Bree. I love you and I would never replace you but…" Chloe trials off and her eyes unfocus "…there's just something about that girl. I really like her."
Aubrey hums in agreement, mind wandering back to the small brunette and wonders when (definitely a when, not an if) they'll get to see her again.
"I do too, Chlo. I do too."
A/N: Quick note, the two songs I referenced are Titanium 500 by DJ Schmolli and Radioactive in the Dark by AirGirlPhantom. They're pretty awesome, you should check them out.