CW: Ruby Rose
The next morning
*Image*
*Image*
Okay but why do you actually look like you hate me?! š
Chloe held her straw to her lips as she squinted at the texts she just sent.
She wasn't usually soā¦ aggressive, but there was something about Beca that made her want to buck all convention - had always made her feel that way, even from that very first night.
And to be fair, the photos were really bad.
Beca, scowling as she dragged Chloe to the car.
Beca, staring straight down the camera lens with malicious intent.
Beca looking murderous- but also bored, somehow? Like her face had melted into a neutral mask that was barely hiding the rage beneath?
Truly, it was an expression so quintessentially Beca that if Chloe wasn't concerned about their whole fake-dating thing, she would've thought it was cute, in its own way.
(She hadn't sent Beca the one from dinner, with Chloe's shocked and dismayed expression as Beca pulled her hand away. It was too earnest. Chloe didn't want to look at that one again if she didn't have to.)
Chloe held a soft focus on the set in front of her. She thought they had a good time last night; it had been even better than she had imagined it could be, honestly. Beca was quick and funny, and she wasn't so bad to look at either.
But she was also protective and sweet in a way that Chloe hadn't expected.
And Chloe was even more solidified in her belief that they were actually going to be close, and that they had something that complemented each other. They got along so well.
She felt like they were absolutely going to be good friends.
But then when they left, something shifted, and not for the better. Chloe had been too tired to put much energy into figuring out what it was at the time, but looking at these picturesā¦
Her phone buzzed in her hand.
wow it is so early
Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! I've already been onset for a while so I didn't even think about it, Chloe typed out quickly. She was going to explain more, but then she saw the director Ti North stand up from his place in video village, and she knew her time was up.
Oh, gotta go! But seriously look at the photos. And happy birthday again!
Beca sent a thumbs up, and Chloe removed her headphones as she threw her phone on silent and shoved it into her bag.
"Okay, next scene. Chloe?"
Chloe nodded as she stood, shucking her cozy robe and revealing the skimpy red romper she had to wear today.
She'd worn less, and she was pretty confident about her body - maybe not when slightly hungover at seven a.m. in sub 40 degree weather, though.
They were at an old gas station that somebody had built on the Paramount lot, probably for an old TV show or something. It was perfect for a horror movie set in the seventies - especially if it meant that they didn't actually have to go down to Houston, where the movie was set.
Y was one of those movies that no one was able to get why Chloe had taken the role. She'd done horror in the past, but she had always played the young damsel in distress. This time, she got to be the glamorous, sexy ex-dancer - seasoned, not novice. Older. Sassier.
She'd told Gail she wanted to do some different things, and she was pretty sure that her manager had given her this script as a lark. Maybe even to scare her off from trying to do something different.
But a gruesome, aging-centric horror film that already had two big stars attached?
That was slated to premiere at Sundance?
By renowned horror director Ti North?
That sounded like a challenge.
And Chloe Beale loved a challenge - it was one of the things that drew her to acting in the first place. Sure, she was attractive enough to audition; that was something she always felt herself dwelling on, that just because she had the look, she was supposedly perfect for the silver screen.
But when she started in horror all those years ago, she found that the genre was about tension and timing. It was about building suspense. It was about believing that she was there, that she was actually going to die or get kidnapped or something.
It was exciting, to be challenged like that again.
And she wasn't the damsel this time.
She was consulting her script - she had a couple lines to the new girl, nothing special, it was mostly about attitude - when Ti stepped up next to her.
"I want her to feel uneasy- not just because of how you look and the confidence you have, but with the pacing," Ti said. "Like when we ran it, you slowed down and just-"
"Stared at her, right?" Chloe cut in. "Like I'm evaluating how much younger and prettier she is."
"Or just in general, like you haven't decided how you feel about her yet," Ti finished the sentence. "Metered and methodical."
"Okay, got it, right," Chloe said. Somebody rushed over to do the final touch-ups, and then Ti called "action!"and Chloe went to work.
okay i'm sorry
and thanks
They had finally broken for lunch, and Chloe was hunched over a spinach and chicken salad when Beca's texts came in.
So it's not just me? Because you look like you want to maim somebody! Like, are you okay hahaha!
"How was dinner last night?"
Chloe looked up to find her male co-star Scott Descudi regarding her with a careful eye.
"It was fun!" Chloe replied. "Beca's, like, such a sweetie."
"Uh huh," Scott said encouragingly. "And those pictures?"
Chloe tutted as she chewed her last bite.
"She's just really protective, that's all."
"I'm just saying," Scott teased. "Looked more like work than fun."
it's not just you
i look like a psycho
Chloe glanced down at her messages and saw Beca's new texts, and she giggled to herself.
"Well, Beca thinks they look ridiculous too," she said to Scott as she showed him the phone.
He read the messages and shook his head with a small laugh.
"Well, I hope it's good for you," he said. "I hope she treats you right. I'm gonna head over - want me to take that?"
Chloe nodded, and Scott grabbed her empty container and walked off.
She should probably go towards set or makeup soon, too- but they were doing a bunch of shots inside a van this afternoon, so she wouldn't have her phone, maybe she should justā¦
Did you see we were trending last night? And any big plans for your birthday? Sorry I didn't get you a present, she typed quickly, and the little dots popped up to show that Beca was typing back.
lol you're good
just lunch today, maybe something this weekend
and i didn't. twitter?
And other places, Chloe wrote back. She chewed on her bottom lip - obviously Beca wasn't the type to look herself up after something like last night, but Chloe had had some time this morning to scroll as she was driven to set and done-up.
There were the typical sites - TMZ, People, ET - all of whom had the photos that she had sent Beca this morning. But Twitter and IG had videos from fans, too, which shocked Chloe. She had completely missed the fact that there were even fans there, when they had left the restaurant last night.
She would've stopped if she knew.
But then, she wasn't really leading.
She watched some of those videos, and somehow they were worse than the pictures. Beca had charged out of the restaurant so quickly that Chloe was shocked that the pictures weren't blurry, unusable trash.
It was fun in a way, to see the obvious differences between Beca and the people Chloe had been photographed with in the past.
She wasn't stalling to try to allow for the best picture or pulling Chloe close to make sure the paparazzi had a steamy one to sell.
She just walked her to the car.
Quickly.
Chloe had laughed at the memes on Twitter and IG that painted Beca as a no-nonsense speed demon, and then, without thinking about it, she had clicked onto tumblr.
And that was a different story.
tumblr was a different story in general usually; her media was a lot more curated over there. She was pretty sure that fans didn't know about her tumblr account - not that she was ashamed about it or anything. She just didn't want it to become a thing, like "omg Chloe Beale liked this?"
She preferred the anonymity; it was one of the last places that she had any.
And she'd done well to look like just a regular account. She was specific - she liked the things she liked, focused on things that didn't have her in them. But she followed a few select blogs that had "Chloe Beale" content, just to see what people connected with and what they had to say.
Which had led her down the path of fanfiction.
It wasn't like she went looking for it. She was just scrolling between scenes one day, and she had a little extra time, so she clicked on a longer text post.
It was about her and Chicago, but they weren't recounting the scene from Pilot, the sexy military thriller that they had been in together. Or, it had started like that - like they picked up in a scene where they had been intimate in character, but then somebody yelled "cut!" and it was them, the actors.
All riled up from the scene.
And they went back to their trailer, and this author had written them- the real life people - absolutely fucking each others' brains out.
And Chloe loved it.
It was sexy and exciting, like the beginning of their relationship had been, and Chloe felt herself getting turned on as she read the salacious words and imagining them doing the things that the author wrote.
(It wasn't even far from the truth in some spots.)
And with the way that things had actually, like, culminated between themā¦ well, Chloe just liked that somebody wrote them a happy ending.
So when she was on her phone this morning and she mindlessly clicked over to tumblr, she wasn't super sure what she'd see. Maybe a couple of photosets or something.
It turned out, even with awkward photos, she and Beca were a hit.
She'd seen a few things when they first announced their relationship, like edits of her going into Beca's production building, but now, Chloe's more sapphic fans were going feral. Beca's outfit was one major topic of discussion, but they were even talking about Chloe's rosey cheeks and demure smile.
They even had some interesting (if not a little disturbing) things about Beca's homicidal expressions.
Things about how Beca had a real "touch her and die" vibe about her.
It was kinda sexy, the way they put it.
You know, if they were in a real relationship.
And the writers- who Chloe followed now, of course- they were picking up on it too. She didn't want to stay on anything too long, lest the hairdresser Brick started reading over her shoulder, but the things she did see made her blush.
And maybe there were a few tabs still open, for her to read later.
Out of curiosity.
No other reason.
Beca hadn't responded, so Chloe typed out another message.
So we were definitely trending on Twitter, she wrote. #bechloe had some crazy number of tweets and videos and stuff. But on instagram and ET and other places too, there were lots of people excited to see us together!
okay but like
i mean i look awful
"Chloe! Can I get you back into hair and make-up, please! You need to get in the van first."
"Got it!" Chloe called back.
You didn't look awful! Although, it's weird how you somehow looked more demonic than Chicago did, but I guess he was an actor, she typed to Beca as she made her way across the set.
that was fake?
Chloe sucked her teeth as she stepped into the mobile hair and makeup tent. She greeted everyone then sat down to get re-primped.
And she actually thought about how she wanted to respond to Beca.
Because it wasn't fake, butā¦
It wasn't fake to me, she wrote. And I don't think it was fake to him at the beginning. But then he cheated on me. It was probably the first time, but who really knows! He kept up appearances and I believed him, along with everybody else. Honestly, he was a dickhead.
She hit send before she could overthink sending something like that to a new person in her life.
She liked Beca.
She trusted Beca.
She didn't think Beca would go the tabloid route, especially over some moviestar.
She laughed to herself as she remembered exactly how Beca felt about movies.
seriously? Beca sent.
The dots were up, so Chloe waited to see if Beca had anything else to say. After a few seconds, a new message came through.
men are the worst
They make me sick š Chloe replied. But what really hurts more than anything is that I fell for it. He started all these rumors about me onset, and we still have to see each other sometimes because we share the same manager Gail, you met her. It's just hard. I really wasn't in the mindset to actually date again.
i'll do better, Beca wrote back.
come to the studio next week
or whenever
Chloe felt herself grinning at Beca's response.
I will š š
"Okay, look up for me, honey," the makeup artist Martha said, and Chloe stashed her phone away.
"You're in a good mood," she said as Chloe looked at herself in the mirror. She was still smiling, and she tried to tamp it down as Martha patted her face with a wide brush.
"I am," Chloe replied.
"This wouldn't have anything to do with a certain dinner date last night, would it?"
The other makeup artists all cooed and awww'd around them, and Chloe gave a small, shy smile - one that she'd practiced, one that was easy to fake.
But it didn't necessarily feel fake in that moment.
"It might," she said softly, and the oooh's turned to catcalls.
"It's nice to see you happy," Martha said quietly.
The rest of the group continued to tease, but Chloe just smiled.
Even if nothing romantic happened, Chloe was happy. She'd pushed back on the whole fake-dating thing, but now she was sure that she'd come out of this with a friend at the very least.
And she liked Beca.
And that was enough.
Twelve days later
She wasn't able to get over the Residual Heat until October.
Filming had wrapped - before it was rumored to, but ultimately on-time - and after a few days of celebrating and then recuperating from the whole affair, Chloe had an extra day. She had planned to run a few errands to get ready for her next film, which was slated to start filming at the end of the month. But instead of donning a disguise and doing those errands herself, she got dolled up and had her driver Jessica take her to Beca's work.
There weren't paparazzi out front when she got there, so she hurried inside. Beca had said that the desk would know she was coming, so they flagged her through quickly and directed her upstairs and down the hall to where Beca was working.
Chloe made her way excitedly, but she stopped short of going in the closed door.
They hadn't talked much since that morning after dinner - Chloe's shooting schedule got all screwed up - so really all they'd done was coordinate the time for the studio visit.
(She'd seen a couple articles come out about Beca - stuff like who she was outside of "Chloe Beale's Girlfriend", what songs and albums had she worked on - so she knew that that part was doing what it was supposed to.
They mentioned Y too, so that was good. They commented on the fact that it looked like Chloe Beale was going in a different direction with her new projects.
See, it's working! Gail had texted her, and Chloe had just sent back a couple smileys.)
But she hadn't seen Beca since they had dinner last month.
Which Beca was she going to get?
The one that she had dinner with, that was- fine, a little awkward, but also sweet and funny?
Or the one that drove her home?
The one that said she "wasn't like" Chloe?
Only one way to find out, she thought to herself, and she knocked on the door quietly before pushing it open.
She didn't know why she was so surprised to see Beca in the studio- was she expecting a desk and a computer? Either way, Beca was there, behind a massive soundboard. So massive, Chloe wasn't convinced that Beca could reach all of the buttons, knobs, and sliders. She turned when the door opened, and her frustrated expression actually loosened into a smile when she saw it was Chloe who was coming in.
I can't believe I was worried about seeing her again, Chloe thought as she smiled back.
This thing is like magic between us.
Beca was dressed a bit more casually than the last time that Chloe saw her. She was wearing a faux-leather vest over a grey t-shirt, dark jeans, and heels that weren't really warranted but made her legs look extra long, even sitting down.
Chloe bit her bottom lip.
She was such a sucker for a short girl.
"Uhm, hi? Why is Chloe Beale in my recording session?"
It took Chloe a moment to remember that Beca likely wasn't the only person in the room, and finally she broke her eye-contact with the producer to look around.
There were three other men in the outside part of the studio, one closer to the door, and two further down the mixing board.
And behind the glass, Chloe could see that Australian actress Ruby Rose was starting to look impatient.
And Chloe immediately knew that, while Beca might've told the front desk that she was coming to the studio today, she hadn't told her coworkers.
"Ruby, you can take five- Miss Beale! Welcome!" the skinny bald guy at the front said as he stood. He towered over Chloe, and she fought her instinct to step back and instead stepped forward, further into the room.
"I'm sorry," Beca sighed as she leaned around from behind him, a sharp glint in her eye. "I thought we would be done by now."
"Well, we would've been done," Ruby said as she stepped out of the recording area. "-if you had just listened to me."
She stepped around Chloe and out into the hallway before anyone could respond.
"Oh, right, you two areā¦ together," the tall guy sighed. "How did that happen again?"
"It's fake! There's no way Reggie pulled a major hottie like that!" one of the other guys called from across the room. He was shorter, with brown hair and squinty, dark eyes.
"Shut the fuck up, Bumper," Beca said quickly.
"I'm Sammy Key," the tall guy said. "I'm one of the senior EPs around here."
"Chloe Beale," she said in reply. "Pleased to meet you."
"Oh, I know who you are," Sammy replied with a short laugh. "I'm more shocked that you somehow knew about our little Reggie over here."
"Well, I'm not sure who Reggie is, but Becs and I actually met years ago, right, hun?" Chloe said sweetly before throwing in a wink for good measure. Beca huffed out a quick "oh jesus christ" before she stood up, flashing the tall guy a tight smile.
"I'll be right back," she sighed as she stepped towards the door. "Don't touch that track, Bumper."
The shorter guy laughed loudly.
"You mean, 'don't make it better? Don't improve my shitty, moody music'?"
"Reggie," Sammy cut in before they were able to escape. "Will you get Ruby back in here? And two coffees?"
Chloe watched as Beca took a quick, deep breath before plastering on a smile.
"Sure thing," she agreed.
"Three coffees!" the Bumper guy tacked on, but Chloe saw that Beca only responded with an eye-roll as she pulled Chloe out the door and across the hall into some kind of a lounge.
It was a big room, with a wall of grey cabinets and a countertop full of snacks and Keurig machines. Across from that, there were black and grey couches that weren't exactly hand-me-downs, but they looked like they had seen better days.
"Do you need to-" Chloe started to say, but Beca became a flurry of action. She opened a lower cabinet, grabbing three Keurig pods and slamming them into machines before opening a dishwasher to retrieve reusable travel coffee mugs.
"These fucking dickbag producers with their 2010s bullshit," Beca said under her breath, and then she glanced at Chloe. "Do I need to- what? Go find medium-talent Ruby Rose? No, she won't be gone long, her ego won't let her. But if you were going to ask if I need to bang my head into the soundboard until my eyes bleed then maybe."
Chloe watched as she closed all the machines and jammed the on buttons a little harder than she needed to. One didn't take, and she had to hit the button four more times before the coffee maker whirred to life.
She leaned over with her hands on the counter and groaned loudly at the ground.
So not funny, relaxed, tipsy Beca then, Chloe thought to herself.
She felt a surge of protectiveness sweep through her chest, but she pushed it back down. Was she going to go in there and demand that they were nice to Beca? No way.
So I'll offer to take away the only stressor I can.
"We can do this another time," Chloe said. "I should've texted to confirm-"
Beca chuckled mirthlessly and finally stood all the way up to actually look at Chloe in the eye.
She lookedā¦ lost. It wasn't an adjective that Chloe had used to describe a lot of people before, but in the shadow of Beca's expression, she saw worry and doubt. Like when they first met, when Chloe knew that Beca didn't really want to do any of this.
But this one wasn't grounded the way that one was.
Untethered.
She looks untethered.
But that unmoored, manic anxiety faded as Chloe watched her, and it reminded Chloe of the way Beca had changed at dinner, after the first course. She'd asked the paparazzi to leave - which was, like, so hot - and she finally started to smile and relax more and-
"The most fucked up part of all of this is that I'm actually really happy to see you," Beca sighed.
"Hi."
"Hey," Chloe replied excitedly, instinctively stepping forward to pull Beca's hand into her own.
But as she got close, she remembered how Beca had acted the first time, and she stopped before she made the producer any more uncomfortable.
Beca seemed to pick up on Chloe's intent, though, because she stiffened before stiltedly reaching for Chloe's arm herself, grabbing her on the wrist.
Chloe felt the biggest smile spread across her face as she looked at where they were joined.
"It's good to see you too," she hummed, looking down first, but then she glanced up. Beca was grinning now too, but it was a sideways, happy smirk that made her look pleased and smug at the same time - like she had just gotten away with something.
"Do you want a coffee too?" Beca asked. "It's probably going to be another half hour at least."
Chloe nodded, and Beca nodded back. She stepped back and started setting up yet another Keurig for Chloe's drink.
"I can do it," Chloe started to say, reaching forward to take over for Beca, but Beca caught her hand and pushed it away.
"But then you wouldn't get coffee made by a master," Beca said jokingly. "I'm like a maestro with these machines."
"Oh, is there a secret to it?"
"No, not at all, it's literally the easiest thing in the world."
Chloe laughed, and Beca flashed her a self-effacing, toothy grin.
"Beca."
Chloe turned at the same time that Beca looked around her towards the door. Ruby Rose was leaning against the doorway with an unamused grimace at the phone in her hand.
"Can I get a hot water with honey, when you come back in? I'm ready to start again."
"Right on top of that," Beca sighed, but Ruby was already gone. Chloe waited until she heard the door close before she leaned towards Beca.
"Gail thought that she would be a good fit for this," she whispered. "I had to show her the blind items."
Beca laughed out loud, then she threw a hand over her mouth.
"Oh my god," she laughed through her fingers. "That would've been awful."
"You're telling me," Chloe laughed. She re-opened the dishwasher and grabbed a mug, handing it to Beca. Beca took it to the fridge where she pulled out a Brita filtered pitcher and filled the mug up.
"Should I just hang out in here? I don't want to disrupt the process."
Beca sighed as she stuck the now-full mug into the microwave and tapped a few buttons. The microwave started up as she turned back to Chloe.
"As much of a disaster as it may be, I think you should come in," Beca said thoughtfully. "Bumper will be gross, but Dax is cool, for a 2022 hipster anyway. And maybe Sammy won't be a total douche-nozzle to me if you're there."
Chloe nodded seriously. She knew Beca was upset, and she was happy that the producer was expressing it to her instead of shutting her out like she did after dinner.
She felt like they were taking serious friendship strides.
That said, it was very hard to try to honor Beca's feelings and not laugh at a word like "douche-nozzle."
"So yeah, just come in," Beca sighed as she went on. "If anything, it should make the time go faster. I doubt Ruby's going to want to be in there long, with you listening."
Chloe winced.
"Are you sure? I don't want her to feel uncomfortable."
"Dude, I want you there," Beca shot back as the microwave dinged. She wrapped a napkin around the handle and pulled the mug out, nearly dropping it on the counter as the heat easily overpowered the napkin. She pulled honey out of the fridge and mixed it in with a long spoon.
"You do?" Chloe asked, careful not to let too much excitement affect her tone. She didn't want to scare Beca off - she knew she could be a little intense, so she didn't want to show that she really, really wanted to go back into the studio.
She didn't want to have to stay in this weird, giant kitchen/lounge, of course- but really, she wanted to go back in because she watch Beca work. She wanted to see how she did it - how she took something simple and made it sound awesome, how she made the notes work together like they did, and how she layered vocals, and what percussion she used and how she crafted the song and had it build-
The very back corner of her mind threw up a warning flag.
This isn't as casual as you're pretending it is.
She acknowledged it with a quick mental nod.
This probably wasn't the way that people got excited about their friends, even new ones. But that wasn't going to change how she felt.
"People might be nicer to me, if my 'superstar girlfriend' can hear them," Beca said, and Chloe could detect the twinge of guilt in her tone. "Is that bad?"
God, Chloe thought. She's so cute.
She'd just monitor those feelings.
Keep a watchful eye on how her heart swelled as she watched Beca attempt to load the travel mugs into this crappy plastic drink holder.
Her tongue sliding between her lips as she focused all of her effort on the futile task.
Chloe finally stepped forward and put her hands over Beca's.
"Let me carry some," she said softly.
Beca huffed out a sigh and an eye-roll, but she let Chloe grab the mugs - one with the water for Ruby and one with coffee for Chloe. Chloe pulled the sleeve of her oversized black sweater over her hands so that she could carry the mugs without burning herself - interrupted only when Beca stopped her.
"Oh fuck, right, I'm sorry," she said. She opened another drawer and pulled out two knit collars. She wrapped them around the mugs and buttoned them under their handles.
"Yours?" Chloe teased.
Beca leveled her with a hard look, but the venomous glare couldn't hide the mirth in her eyes.
"I don't want Ruby to have any excuses to stay any longer than she already has - like if she burned herself," she explained exasperatedly. "C'mon."
They went back into the studio, and Chloe stayed on her best behavior. It wasn't an easy task, with Bumper constantly trying to strike up conversation and Ruby singing one of the most basic songs in existence. It must've been from a movie or something - or, at least, written by someone who wrote music for movies. Thankfully most of the vocals were already recorded; they just had the bridge to wrap up.
Chloe steadfastly ignored Bumper's self-aggrandizing and instead focused on watching Beca over the rim of her mug.
In this space - and, with an observer, so Chloe knew that the whole thing was a little off - Beca was concise and certain. Which was so unlike what Chloe had witnessed of the producer so far. It was thrilling - and a little intoxicating - to see Beca in her element.
But what she showed in cogency, she lost in confidence.
She would say something good, something that made 100% sense to Chloe and sounded right, and the boys would run over her opinion. Or Ruby would scoff and shrug it off.
Like, on the bridge. Beca wanted to take the isolated vocals longer than what the song currently afforded, which was barely more than a 16-count. She tried to explain, and Sammy shrugged her off. Bumper mocked her, but Beca doubled down, saying that it could make the song build back up in a way that would help add some legitimacy.
Eventually the idea was nixed for time over substance, and 45 minutes after Chloe walked in, Ruby Rose was walking out.
"Why didn't you push it?" Chloe asked once everyone had left. She was standing by the mixing equipment, attempting to appear decidedly less excited than she felt.
"The edit?" Beca shrugged as she reset the levels on the equipment. "Not worth it."
But Chloe could tell there was lingering doubt in the producer's mind.
There wasn't any doubt in Chloe's; she could hear what Beca was trying to do, and she knew it would sound awesome.
I bet she knows it too, she thought. Underneath all that worry.
"I think it would've been better," she said casually.
She watched Beca in her periphery - she locked up, arm stretched all the way up the mixing panel, freezing over the last slider. Her posture returned to normal slowly as she seemed to digest what Chloe had said, and then she sat down with a sigh.
"I don't even know if it would've worked, to be completely honest," Beca said. "Ruby isn't the best singer, and my vocals are just okay. Not sure we would've been able to convincingly sell it."
"Cue it up- I'll sing it with you," Chloe replied quickly - quicker than she thought, quicker than she probably should have. Beca's eyebrows shot up into her hairline as she appraised her.
"Oh, you will?"
"You think I can't handle it?" Chloe shot back. Her pulse picked up as she stood up a little straighter, rolled her shoulders back.
A challenge?!
"No, no," Beca laughed. "It's not like we're writing Mozart here."
Beca re-set up a few things - something on the laptop, then something on a mini keyboard - and then she turned to Chloe expectantly.
"Okay, so you remember the lead-in to the bridge?"
"The weird la-la-la's?"
Beca giggled, and Chloe felt herself bite her lip.
She loved making Beca laugh.
Okay, flag that one into the "maybe friendship isn't enough" category.
"Can you jump in after those?" Beca asked, and Chloe attempted to focus up as she nodded.
Beca played the track, and Chloe sang under her breath as the song built up. Beca was nodding along, singing a few harmonies and ad-libs, and Chloe fought the urge to smile.
The song was basic, sure, but as the guitar solo ripped through the studio, Chloe couldn't help buying into the anticipation. There was something about singing - about really belting out with someone else there to listen - that was so vulnerable. So honest and open and intimate.
She knew what it meant to her.
She was ready to share that.
She hummed through the la's, though they were a little low for her, especially with the nodes. Everything but the guitar dropped, and she started to sing.
"Smile when it hurts, tonight with all of my girls."
Beca picked up the harmonies, and Chloe could see that she was playing the mini keyboard too. She heard chords, but they were electronic and choppy, so she tried not to focus on them.
Focus on Beca, her mind said.
Focus on singing with her.
"Party til I can't see straight. This is how a heart un-breaks."
She strayed from the melody, taking it less into the pop-rock route that dominated the rest of the song and into a more soulful, morose tone. Beca stayed with her, holding the chords and jumping on new harmonies somehow in a superhuman feat of producer magic.
She kept smiling and singing, and Beca went with her.
And then the keyboard dropped out.
And it was just her and Beca singing.
"Find someone new," they sang together, and then Beca dropped off.
"Somebody who'll love me the way you loved you," Chloe sang on her own. "Can't you tell I'll be okay?"
"This is how a heart un-breaks."
They held the last note, but Beca didn't bring the rest of the track in. When they finally finished, it was silent, and Chloe sucked in a deep breath.
That was good.
She'd sung on the Y set, and of course people had been complimentary, but that wasn't the same as singing in front of somebody that she considered a (future) close friend. And she knew Beca enough to know that the producer wouldn't be overly complimentary if she didn't mean it.
Not that Chloe was expecting compliments or anything.
They were just messing around with an idea that Beca had thought about.
But something about their voices togetherā¦
She stood there, half-sitting on another producer's stool, with bated breath.
And before she could let it out, Beca sighed out one of her own.
"Is there anything you can't do?" the producer groaned, and Chloe gave a little laugh.
"I'd say producing and juggling are firmly outside of my realm," Chloe giggled. "Though singing isn't really something I'd put in the 'in' category."
Beca rolled her eyes playfully, and Chloe braced herself.
She's going to say something nice- don't go all crazy!
"Chloe Beale," Beca said with a tone of incredulity. "What we just sang together was better than anything I've recorded in the last year."
Oh.
Maybe it was a cliche, but Chloe hadn't been expecting that.
She knew how they sounded.
She knew how their voices melded, how they floated around each other in ethereal complement.
She wasn't deaf.
But she didn't think that Beca would acknowledge it.
Was this an oversight?
Am I underestimating the game of Beca Mitchell?
"Too bad no one else will ever hear a second of it, because Ruby Rose has to sing a shittier version," Beca finished.
Oh.
Maybe not.
"Why don't you sing?" Beca followed up. "You could have a real-"
"Nodes," Chloe cut her off. "Vocal nodules. They sat on my windpipe and crushed my dreams."
Beca nodded, letting out a slow, measured "ah" of acknowledgement, but Chloe went on.
"So I've had to step back, because I am limited."
"Because of yourā¦?"
"Nodes, yes."
Beca nodded in a distracted sort of way.
Is she still thinking about how we sounded together? How we took that simple melody to another level?
Because I know I am.
"Well, I think that version's much better. You should make that one," Chloe said, flipping her hair over her shoulder and putting on her best, confident smile. Beca's expression was still distant, but Chloe could see that hint of mischief in her eyes, like maybe she agreed.
"Maybe," Beca teased, and Chloe felt her own eyes rolling playfully this time.
Flag!
Oh, shut up, brain, she mentally scolded herself.
Beca's phone buzzed, and Chloe shook her gaze off the young producer. She knew she shouldn't be looking at her like that - like she wanted to know everything about her, wanted to know every thought that rose to the surface in her brilliant mind.
Flag! Flag flag flag!
"Oh, shit," Beca said as she checked her phone. "Stacie's here."
"Already?" Chloe said, torn between feeling crestfallen that she was losing her Beca time so suddenly and her excitement to see her friend again.
"Seems that way," Beca sighed, and for a moment, Chloe thought that maybe Beca was struggling with a similar conundrum. The producer was able to shake her apparent apprehension faster than Chloe was though, and she stood up and threw her messenger back onto her shoulder.
"The sooner we get this done, the sooner it's over with," Beca said resolutely, and Chloe reluctantly put on a determined expression to match.
"Let's show these bozos who's boss."
Chloe followed Beca down the hall and into a stairwell, and they started their descent.
"So what's new with you? You finished the movie?"
"Yep," Chloe confirmed as she followed Beca. "Y is in the books, except any ADR or anything. Now it's on to the Applebaum one."
She figured that Beca knew what that meant - although, with her opinion of movies, maybe she didn't. Benji Applebaum was a prodigious young director that Chloe's peers were bending over backwards to work with. He was making some of the most interesting (but also successful) films in LA right now, and when a part had come up that Chloe thought she could read for, she'd begged Gail to get her on the list.
Now that she had gotten the part, though, she was a little nervous.
Applebaum had a reputation of being so sweet but overwhelmingly fair. He wasn't a pushover. He knew what he wanted, and he made the actors work for it.
Tough, but no one could question his success.
And when it came to his projects, he could be ruthless. Chloe knew of actors who replaced during filming on some of his projects because they couldn't make it work.
"Well, I'm sure you'll be be fine," Beca sighed as she glanced back at Chloe. "How bad could it be?"
Okay, so she doesn't know.
Chloe knew that whatever grimace she was wearing didn't exactly inspire confidence, so she was glad when Beca turned back around.
This was probably going to be one of the hardest acting gigs of entire her life, and she only had like two weeks to get ready for it.
And one of those nights would probably have to be spent with Beca.
"Oh!" Chloe said suddenly. "We should probably do that sleepover."
"Right," Beca replied. They'd reached the bottom of the stairwell, and Beca was about to push the door open to let them out into the lobby, but she turned around to look at Chloe. "Your place, right? Friday?"
"I'll check and let you know," Chloe agreed. "And then I'll send you directions."
"I- uh, I'll be good. I made it last time," Beca said, looking away as she forced the door open and stood aside to let Chloe through.
"And the app worked? All the way up?"
"Apparently?" Beca replied quizzically. "Was it not supposed to?"
Chloe shook her head as they crossed the lobby. There were a couple people- she could see Stacie Conrad's head over the others as well as the Residual Heat woman from their first meeting. She saw another glimpse of blonde hair that she thought might be Bree, but she couldn't be sure.
"Nope, we're not on Googlemaps. Keeps out the creeps," she said offhandedly, and she glanced back at Beca to see the end of a nod.
But Beca was also smiling and trying to hide it. They stepped up next to the group but didn't join yet, and Beca sighed faux-dramatically.
"Well, good thing you didn't have to navigate us," the producer said slowly. "You couldn't even pass Maps."
Chloe gasped and reached out to smack Beca, who giggled maniacally. That got the attention of the group, and they all turned at the commotion as Beca leaned away from Chloe's wrath, over the wide security desk.
"I told you that in confidence, Mitchell!" Chloe whisper-shouted.
"Ah! Okay, okay, I'm sorry!"
"Well paint my donkey aquamarine," Chloe heard an Australian voice - which was probably Residual Heat's Fat Amy, if her memory was correct. Chloe turned and found that she was right, and she smiled as the woman scoffed.
"Can't believe you've made shortstack here seem like an actual human," Amy went on, and Beca walked over to her and socked her in the arm.
"Don't know what you're talking about; I'm cool," she bristled.
"Yeah, and I'm the Queen of Sheba," the Australian shot back. Chloe giggled, and Beca glared at her.
"Alright, should we make like a croc and eat this shit up? We ready?"
The group had opened up enough, and Chloe could see Amy, Stacie, another young woman that she figured was on the Residual side, the security guy from the desk, and next to Stacie-
"Bree!"
Chloe rushed across the group and pulled Aubrey Posen into a tight hug, feeling Stacie hug her from behind as well.
"Chloe Beale, good to see you!" Bree greeted her. "You look rested."
"How are you?" Chloe asked excitedly. It'd been months since they'd been able to get together, with only a few texts between them in the mean time.
"Hanging in there," Bree laughed, stepping out of the hug and putting a hand on Stacie's shoulder. "Thankfully, this one helps with that."
Fat Amy scoffed, and Chloe glanced over.
"Called it," she tried to whisper to Beca, but they all heard it. "Called that one a mile away."
Beca sighed, and Chloe caught her eye. She felt a grin forming, and she saw a similar expression starting on Beca's face.
"Chloe," Stacie behind her. "Good to see ya, kid."
Chloe laughed as she turned her attention back to her friends in front of her.
"Stacie, I'm older than you," she said exasperatedly.
"But you're so much shorter."
Chloe and Bree laughed, and Chloe just kept on grinning.
She forgot what it was like to have friends.
Like, real, care-about-you friends.
Bree and Stace had been there for her since her first premiere, when Chloe's ticket to stardom had officially been issued. She'd been in the back of the theater, nearly hyperventilating under the pressure of having to go out again, having to do more interviews and take more pictures, and she was exhausted just by the idea of it.
And Bree had stepped up, put a hand on her back, and led her out a back way to an unmarked car - much to Gail's chagrin and Chloe's relief.
And maybe she shouldn't have trusted someone that quickly, but she did, and she never looked back.
And now they were basically best friends.
"So I'm already familiar with the site," Stacie addressed the group, and Chloe turned back to face the rest of them. She kept her arms around Bree and Stacie though, because when was she even going to get to see them again?
Ugh, she thought to herself. Christmas can't come soon enough.
I need a break.
"I've called in a few other respectful photogs, so it doesn't look like we have the exclusive. But I told them they can only sell one each. Is that okay?"
They all turned to Chloe, but Chloe was looking at Beca. This was more about her, in Chloe's mind. Beca bit her lip thoughtfully, and the two had a silent conversation - Will seem less fake. True. Good? Good. - and then they both turned to Stacie.
"All good with us," Chloe agreed.
Stacie smiled.
"Great," she said. "So we'll get some street shots - hopefully I can get some views over the cars."
"Do you want a ladder?" the security guy chimed in.
"No, we don't believe in ladders," Bree cut in. "They suggest a corporate hierarchy that's counterproductive to our art."
"Or they're, like, really helpful for your job," Fat Amy hedged, and Chloe watched as Beca elbowed her in the tit.
"Beca! Not the goodies!"
"I'm also pretty tall," Stacie said nonchalantly. "I think we can manage."
The group agreed and started to make their way to the doors. Chloe saw that there were a couple other people standing around outside, but they didn't have cameras and they weren't grouping together. They kind of looked like undercover agents - and Chloe had only noticed them because when she had security sometimes, they did the same thing.
Stacie waved to them, and they all made their way inside. There were three total, and Stacie and Aubrey huddled up with them to have a quick logistics rundown.
"Ya know," Fat Amy said as she and Beca stepped up next to Chloe. "I really can't thank you enough for picking one of my clients for this whole shebang."
"Right, I forgot you represent Beca," Chloe said with a wink to Beca, and Beca rolled her eyes.
"She doesn't," she said, but Amy went on.
"We're getting hits on songs that we forgot about," she said. "Remember that Sia jam, from back in the day? God, it was years ago- what was it Beca?"
Chloe looked to Beca then, and the producer looked pensive - a little sad, maybe, and a lot far-away.
"Cheap Thrills," she muttered.
"Oh my god, I love that song," Chloe admitted with a breathless laugh, and Beca snapped her attention back to her.
"Well, yeah, we're getting hits on that again, and I don't think it's just TikTok," Amy went on.
But Chloe wasn't looking at Amy.
Chloe was looking at Beca.
They were locked in a stare - nothing harsh or even invested, really. It was like they both just liked looking at each other. Chloe felt her jaw relax, and Beca's shoulders dropped a little bit, and they just smiled at each other.
And yes, Chloe liked to look at her friends just the same as anyone else did- maybe even more.
But this?
Decidedly not friendly, or at least not just friendly.
"And Ruby Rose asked for her specifically."
That got Chloe's attention to break, and she glanced over at Amy.
"Oh she did, did she?"
"Beale," Beca sighed. "Don't make it a thing."
"Amy, you're Australian-" Chloe started to say, but Amy cut her off.
"'Fat' Amy, if you would."
"Sorry, of course," Chloe corrected, and she struggled to keep her grin down. "Fat Amy, when an Australian like Ruby Rose is pursuing someoneā¦"
"If you're asking if I think Ruby Rose wanted a slice of this surly twat's pie, then yes, absolutely."
"Ames!"
Chloe laughed, big and happy, and even Beca couldn't hide her smile.
"What, it's true!" Fat Amy protested. "Maybe after all this is over, you can get down under, if you know what I mean."
"I, uh, do," Beca stammered. "Yeah I'm pretty sure that people on the space station know what you mean."
The two continued to trade verbal blows, but Chloe tuned them out.
Because Fat Amy had just called something into focus that really put a bee in her bonnet.
This was temporary.
This was a contract.
It was all going to go away in a few short months.
And she was going to lose Beca forever if she didn't do something.
She knew what Beca was like, and she knew that this whole situation was stressful enough without the added complications of feelings. She knew how Beca handled even casual, friendly touches - if I started to come onto her, she thought, she'd probably lose her dang mind.
And that would be so unfair to Beca, to have to be in a fake relationship with someone who was infatuated with her.
Chloe didn't want to lose this. She didn't want to screw things up by letting her crush ruin another chance at real friendship - one that Beca clearly was okay with.
So that's where she'd stay.
In the friendship zone.
"Are you all ready?"
Chloe turned to see that everyone except Bree had gone back outside, and now the formidable woman was looking at them expectantly.
"Of course," Chloe said, and she turned around to Beca.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah," Beca said, and Fat Amy stayed where she was a Beca stepped forward.
Chloe fought the urge to reach for her.
She had to clasp her hands together to keep from reaching out.
"Okay, so Beca, I'm going to give you a quick rundown of what's going to happen here," Bree started to say, and Chloe avoided Beca's gaze in favor of looking at her old friend.
"It's not going to be like Intersection, is it?"
Bree shook her head with a small, sad smile.
"Thankfully we run a tighter ship than that," she said. "You can see the car waiting?"
Chloe and Beca both glanced over to see an unmarked, unassuming black sedan slightly down the block.
"It's going to pull up, and then you're going to walk out," Bree went on. "Four people are going to be taking pictures, but they're not going to shout or have the flash on or anything. You'll probably hear the shutters, but that's all."
Chloe glanced over to see Beca nodding. Her eyes were a little unfocussed, but she seemed to be hearing and comprehending what Bree was explaining.
That protectiveness swirled up in Chloe again, and all she wanted to do was end this whole charade.
It was all so dumb. Beca didn't need this - she was just a person. All of this celebrity nonsense was meaningless baloney. Beca was a talented producer, and she didn't need Chloe to come in and make her life so much more complicated.
They shouldn't have done this to her.
She didn't deserve the drama.
No one deserved it.
But then Beca must've felt her staring or something, because she glanced at Chloe and gave her a resolute nod. Her eyes betrayed a bit of fear, but her mouth was set in a firm line.
"Sounds good," Beca said aloud, turning back to Bree.
So Chloe didn't say anything.
"I looked up your other pictures, and I have a few notes," Bree started again, and Chloe bristled.
If she starts saying something condescending to my-
"Only a few?" Fat Amy called from behind them, and Chloe turned around sharply.
"Woah, that is one fiery ginga."
"Chlo," Beca said, laying her hand on her arm. Chloe spun back quickly and met Beca's eye. Beca was smiling self-consciously. "It's okay. They did look awful, remember?"
Chloe huffed and tried to focus on the warmth of Beca's hand, even when the producer pulled it away.
When she finally looked back up at Bree, her friend was giving her a slightly amused look.
"Right," Bree went on. "So we're going to go a little slower than before, and I don't want you to look at the cameras. In fact, if you can, I want you to focus on each other."
She said the last part slowly, like she didn't know how the words would be taken. But Chloe watched from the corner of her eye as Beca just nodded.
"I can do that," Beca agreed.
"Good," Bree said. "And sometimes, it helps if you have something in your hand, something to keep you grounded. Maybe a cup or a magazine? Anything that you can gesture or fidget with would be good."
Chloe turned to look at Beca, and she was surprised to see that Beca was already looking at her with a giddy smile.
She turned to Bree with a more serious expression.
"Do you have any snail forks?"
And Chloe broke.
Something about the way they fed off each other - the way that one would wind up, and the other would crack wise, the way they could switch - just burst in Chloe's heart, and she let out a huge laugh.
The rest of the group jumped a little at the sudden outburst. The security guard shuffled awkwardly from foot to foot, and Fat Amy was saying something behind her, but Chloe couldn't hear. She was giggling too hard, and Beca was laughing too. She turned to shout something at Fat Amy, and Chloe turned back to Bree.
"It was so funny, Bree," she started to say. "I'll have to tell you the story sometime."
"Uh huh," her friend hummed, looking between the two of them. "I think I'd like to hear that."
"No, it's cool," Beca said as she turned her attention back to the pair of them. "I'll just- I'll just hold Chloe's hand, if that's cool?"
Chloe couldn't stop the bloom of butterflies that fluttered through her stomach. She beamed at Beca, who was ducking her head shyly, smiling at her from under her lashes.
Friends.
Weird, overprotective, incredibly close friends.
"Should work fine," Bree agreed with a smile. "Okay, I'll go let them know we're ready."
Bree stepped outside, and Beca turned to her.
"You're good?" she asked, and Chloe rolled her eyes as she reached for Beca's hand slowly.
"Feels like something I should be asking you," she teased, and she finally made contact with Beca's hand. The producer turned her hand over, and Chloe laced their fingers together.
And then she let out one final giggle.
"You sure you don't want that fork?"
Beca shook her head with a smile, and she turned towards the door. The car pulled into place. Chloe felt the tug on her hand as Beca sucked in a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Want me to lead this time?" Chloe asked. "I can set the pace."
"Sure," Beca agreed, and Chloe stepped forward.
"Slow and focus on each other," Beca said quietly under her breath.
Fat Amy called out a quick "later lovebirds!" in goodbye, and Beca nodded over Chloe's shoulder at her.
"I'll be right here," Chloe said quietly. "I'm not going anywhere without you."
Beca smiled at that, with soft eyes, and Chloe nodded.
And they stepped outside.
She only stared at the pictures for, like, twenty minutes.
The first time, anyway.
How Stacie and the other photographers was able to find such intimate moments on an LA sidewalk - ones with secret smiles and parted lips and the ghost of a laugh - Chloe would never know.
She didn't even remember if Beca had said something to make her laugh.
And she didn't go on tumblr.
At least, not until Thursday.
And Beca was coming over tomorrow, and she really needed to get some stuff doneā¦ but that tab was still open.
The images tab, from Google.
And she was going to be good. She wasn't going to blur any more lines with Beca.
Or, at least, she planned to.
But Thursday night, as she sat down at the end of a long day of prep - just a few days after making her new resolution to be friendly and not flirty - Chloe couldn't help herself.
She grabbed her phone and attached the photos, typing out a quick message.
*image*
*image*
*image*
THERE's my cute fake girlfriend. š is 128525 š is 128525
Y isn't X, there's some clear differences so don't expect the same plot from X. Visuals are the same though.
And the real life people are cleaaaaaaaary not the sameā¦
And yes, I ended up writing How A Heart Unbreaks by fucking Evermoist from pp3 into a fic. I'm not exactly thrilled about it either. Y'all know that Ruby Rose is a DJ and wrote a fucking terrible song during the panorama? It's literally called Quarantine. She posted it in April '20. Can't make this shit up.
Hoping to post next week, but all these chapters keep being so long. Hopefully see ya then.