"Becs! Hurry up!" Jesse called from her living room. He had decided to get to her house early to make sure they were at Chloe's house on time, but Beca seemed to be on her own time schedule. He could hear her throwing things around in her room, undoubtedly making a mess. She insisted on taking her own car, telling him that she needed to practice driving. She was from New York, where the subway was the main mode of transportation.
"Give me a sec, sheesh." she shouted from her room. "I just have to find the ticket."
Beca had, moments prior, given one of the two tickets to her gig with Luke to Jesse. With a wide grin, he had accepted it, excited that he finally got to hear the music she was always going on and on about.
"Okay, I got it," Beca said, running down the stairs, her hair bouncing behind her. She wore a pair of black leggings with an oversized sweater that hung in all the right places. Pulling a scarf over her head and her combat boots on her feet, she ran towards her car, waiting for him to follow.
Unlocking the door, she got in, adjusting the mirrors before starting the engine. Turning on the radio, Beca began swaying to the beat while Jesse just stared at her from the corner of his eye with absolute wonder. He didn't know how she did it; one moment she would be badass Beca Mitchell and the next minute she would be Beca Mitchell- girl next door. Driving up Chloe's street, they could already see the line of cars stretching along the road. The house was lit up; every single light was turned on. Music was blasting; the song was vaguely familiar.
Stepping out of the car, Jesse waited until Beca was at his side before making his way down the narrow pathway. She walked a few steps behind him, looking at the house. It looked pretty much the same as it had looked all those years ago, except the house looked like it donned a new layer of paint. Looking through the open window, Beca could see a very blond, broad girl, about the same age as her, attempting to eat the largest mexican burrito she had ever seen. Across the table sat a boy, doing the same. All throughout the front room Beca was able to see people, from an asian girl wearing eccentric clothes to a group of guys watching another guy in the center attempt to do a card trick. It was like Chloe invited a person from every cliche clique in all high school movies to one place.
Opening up the door, stood Chloe, a smile emerging on her face. "Welcome, Beca and Jesse!" she squealed. "I'm so happy the two of you could make it!"
Beca stepped inside, hanging her jacket on the rack a few feet inside the house. Taking Beca's hand, Chloe led her through the maze of twisting doors and walls, introducing the majority of the people in attendance.
"Fat Amy, nice to meet you," the girl, who had been eating a burrito, stuck out a hand for her to shake. Accepting the handshake, Beca's eyebrows raised when she heard the girl's name but she quickly responded, "It's nice to meet you too, I'm Beca"
"Nah, I already know who you are." Fat Amy said, waving off her introduction and taking another bite of her burrito, "Jesse and Chloe wouldn't stop yammering about you. I recognized you the first minute you stepped into school the first day; there aren't many girls I could list who possess an ear spike and are described as 'totes super pretty, but whose evil eye might actually kill you.'"
Beca laughed, taking a seat next to Amy. Introductions followed as the night rolled on. A guy with a card set and a cape (Jesse promised that the trick she'd seen as they were walking up wouldn't be the last trick she would see that night) introduced himself as Benji, revealing a guinea pig under his sleeve before shaking her hand. The names weren't actually as hard to remember as Beca had imagined; all the people were very distinct in their own ways. Stacie introduced herself with a wink, saying that Beca would be a big help getting into some clubs for the 'hunter' to meet some cute guys.
Other attendees including Cynthia-Rose and Lilly, who were conversing in the corner, Lilly (not so discreetly) watching Donald. Beca surveyed the room, drinking from the half-full cup that had been in her hands for most of the night. On the other side of the room, Chloe was perusing through the On Demand menu to try to find a movie to watch while Bumper and Amy were engaging in what seemed to be an argument, but Beca could still see the smile that glazed over Amy's face when Bumper wasn't looking.
Jesse sat on the arm of the sofa Beca was sitting on, bringing her over a bowl full of popcorn. "I knew you would like them," he said, motioning for her to scoot over. Beca obliged, giving way for him to lay down next to her.
"Don't look so smug about it."
Jesse, still with a smile on his face, threw a kernel of popcorn up and caught it, pretending to bow once he achieved it. Beca, in response, just flung the couple of kernels in her hand at him, earning her a counterattack.
Chloe looked at her two friends in the corner of her eye, smiling to herself, before returning her gaze back to the television. Suddenly, a knock on the door disturbed her search. Getting up and breezing over her front door, Chloe opened it to reveal a blonde girl, clad in a polo and jeans.
"Aubrey," Chloe welcomed, "It's so nice that you came." Aubrey Posen, senior at Atlanta High was one of the most popular girls in school. Her hair was always perfectly curled in soft ringlets and her outfit always matched to the 'T'. If you asked anyone to described Aubrey, they might say organized (always carrying around a color coded planner) or dedicated (throwing a temper tantrum when she got lower than a B on any test or quiz). Aubrey walked down the hallways like everyone was invisible to her, the 'superior one'.
Chloe, on some occasions, would call Aubrey her friend. When they were younger, they used to play together. Aubrey would let Chloe play with her massive doll house and Chloe was able to block out all of Aubrey's rules. As they got older, Chloe found her friend group and Aubrey found, well, just more things to do. She was part of the Celibacy Club (president, as of last year), and the girls tennis team. She took drama and out of school piano lessons, and it was a mystery to Chloe how Aubrey could stay awake every day during school whereas Chloe herself could hardly stay awake past third period.
Other times, Aubrey would get on Chloe's nerves, bossing people around or never taking Chloe's advice. Chloe hated it when Aubrey made everything about herself. During their sleepovers, every minute was planned out. Chloe used to be able to deal with it, sipping on her lemonade while Aubrey moved them from activity to activity, but as she got older, Aubrey's organization seemed more straining. Whenever she crossed her arms over her chest, protesting against following Aubrey's precious schedule, Aubrey would almost have a fit, yelling her ear piercing scream.
Now, at her door, stood the 'famous' Aubrey, pushing a fruit salad into Chloe's hands before walking into the house, leaving Chloe speechless for a second. Aubrey dropped her coat on the rack, gingerly placing her shoes neatly by the front door. Making her way to the living room, Aubrey had her eyes on only one person. Her brisk walk ended in front of the person as her lips turned up in a smile. Ignoring the girl sitting next to the person, Aubrey said, "Jesse, Chloe told me you were going to be here. I'm so sorry I didn't tell you I was coming. I just wanted to surprise you! After I haven't seen you for pretty much the entire summer. I mean, I loved spending my summer in California with my uncle, but I've missed you."
Jesse turned around, staring at the blonde girl in front of him. Turning his body slightly away from Beca, he responded, "I've missed you as well, Bree. I'm glad you could come." He ran his hand down her arm, taking her hand in his. Plastering a smile onto her face, Aubrey introduced herself to Beca, "You must be Beca. I've heard all the talk about you from everyone here."
Beca grimaced, returning Aubrey's stare, "Yeah, I'm Beca. Don't you remember me? I certainly remember you." she said coldly.
Beca recalled all the times during her childhood when Aubrey would push her stuff down in the hallway or call her names in front of the other girls in her class. Beca had tried to keep everything inside, not going to Jesse or Chloe for help, but she also never forgot the torture the blonde girl standing inches from her caused her back in grade school. Turning on her heel and tugging at Jesse's hand, Aubrey took one last look at Beca, sneering in her direction, staring at her ear spike.
"How was juvie anyway? I never had a chance to ask you about it. I'll see you around, Beca. Come on, babe." Aubrey pulled on Jesse's shoulder, ushering him to stand up.
Aubrey knew good and well that Beca never went to juvie, but it was a sore spot for Beca that Aubrey couldn't resist prodding at. Aubrey pressed a hard kiss to Jesse's lips, conveniently right in Beca's line of vision, before turning around, dragging a defeated looking Jesse behind her. Beca just sat there in shock, earning her a sympathetic glance from Chloe. As Jesse was being dragged to the kitchen, he mouthed the words, "I'm sorry," to her from across the room.
Beca, sat shell shocked, not knowing what to do before pulling her jacket tighter around her frame and rushing out of the front door, ignoring Chloe's calls for her to return. Quickly unlocking her car door and slamming it shut behind her, she nestled back into her seat, letting out a long breath. How could he, sweet and kind Jesse, date someone that evil? She wouldn't have cared if he was dating anyone else, but out of all the people in the world, Aubrey? Really? Why couldn't Jesse use his brain for once? Shaking her head, she jammed her key in the ignition and pulled off of the curb.
Jesse, seeing Beca's quick exit yanked his hand out of Aubrey's, despite her protests, and pushed through the other guests to follow her out of the door. Though by the time he stepped onto Chloe's front lawn, her car was halfway down the street, and her taillights were fading in the distance. Jesse ran his hand through his hair, debating whether or not he should go after her. Though, before he had time to make up his mind, a hand grabbed at his shoulder, anxiously pulling him back inside. Aubrey took his hand in hers once again, motioning for him to relax and come back inside to watch the movie Chloe had picked.
That night may have been the first time in his life that Jesse wanted nothing more than to turn off a movie and do something, anything else. The image of Beca's hurt face kept surfacing in his mind, but he just sat on the couch stiffly, with Aubrey's hand tightly gripping his as he stared blankly at the flickering pictures on the screen, hardly absorbing any of the plot line.
Plot twist! Don't worry Jeca fans, there will be a light at the end of the tunnel.