Finding Her Again

After a few hours, Beca was able to calm down. Sarah offered to drive her home, and she accepted the offer. They were about a mile from Beca's apartment when Sarah had a sudden epiphany and let out a gasp.

"What?" Beca questioned.

"Just thinking."

"About what?"

"Nothing." Sarah turned to Beca and smiled, and Beca rolled her eyes and dropped the subject; though she hadn't failed to notice the mysterious glint in Sarah's eyes. When she pulled into the parking lot, Beca turned to her again.

"You're up something."

"Am not!"

"Are too!" Sarah stuck her tongue out. "You're so childish."

"I know you are, but what am I?"

"My point has been made." Beca chuckled. Then, her face turning serious, she asked, "But really, what are you up to?" Sarah let out a sigh.

"Well, if you must know, I'm thinking about doing something different for this album." She answered; it wasn't a complete lie.

"Oh."

"I tell you about it tomorrow, kay."

"Alright, see ya."

"Bye!" Her goodbye was a little too cheery, and Beca turned to give her a weird look, but she was already gone.

...

As soon as Sarah got to her place, she ran to the computer room. She pulled up Facebook and typed Chloe Beale into the search box- operation Get Chloe and Beca Together was officially in motion. Surprisingly Chloe was easy to find because Beca was a mutual friend. Actually, that shouldn't have surprised Sarah; Beca only got on Facebook once, and that was because Sarah forced her to accept her friend request.

Sarah clicked on Chloe's name. Her profile page came up, and, thankfully nothing was closed to the public, so she could 'creep' on the red head. Her cover photo was a group of girls in what looked to be flight attendant outfits. At the right end of the picture, Chloe was hugging a brunette... wait... she was hugging Beca! And Beca was smiling! This girl is definitely worth the trouble I'm getting myself into.

Moving on, Sarah found where her workplace was listed. She was an elementary teacher. Sarah looked at the time, it was a little after twelve, so that would mean it was around three in Atlanta. She opened another tab and typed Kinsey Stone Elementary into the search box. She found the contact info, but paused before calling. What was she going say? She had a plan, but Sarah wasn't supposed to know Chloe could sing. Suddenly, a thought struck her, and she opened another tab.

She pulled up Youtube, and typed in Barden Bellas ICCA finals 2012. She clicked on the first video and watched. A tall blonde started singing, and then Chloe picked up where she left off. She's got talent. Sarah finished the video and looked at the related videos on the side. Sure enough, the red head had videos of her singing covers. She clicked on one and listened. Yep, she can definitely sing. Now that Sarah knew what she was going to say, she went back to the school's contact info. She picked up her phone and dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi. My name is Sarah Thomas, and I'm trying to reach Ms. Chloe Beale."

"Okay, Ms. Thomas, I'll put her on the line."

"Thank you." Sarah waited and heard the lady ask for Chloe over the intercom. She waited a few more minutes before Chloe was on the phone.

"Hi, Chloe Beale speaking." She said.

"Hi, Chloe. This is Sarah Thomas, and-"

"You mean the Sarah Thomas?!" She squealed into the phone.

"The singer? Yep, that's me." She heard a muffled shriek on the phone and waited.

"Oh my gosh, what do you want? Wait, that wasn't supposed to sound mean! What I meant was how can I help you?" Chloe asked. Sarah chuckled.

"I'm working on an album, and I wanted to sing it with an unknown singer. I was wondering if you'd like to be that singer."

"Oh my gosh, you don't even need to ask! Of course I'll do it!"

"That's great! You'll need to come down to LA for a few months; when are you free?" Sarah questioned.

"Well, school's out in a few days, so I could be there in a week or so. I'll just have to find tickets."

"Don't worry about that. My record producer and I will take care of the tickets and the hotel. If you want, you can bring a friend with you, just so you aren't alone. LA is a pretty scary place to come to for the first time alone." She heard another excited shriek.

"Yeah, I'd love to bring a friend!" Chloe said.

"Great. If you give me your e-mail address, I can send you the tickets and directions to the hotel and recording studio. Just let me get a pen and paper." Once she found a pen and paper, Chloe gave her Sarah e-mail, and she scribbled it down.

"If I may, how did you find me?" Chloe asked.

"I saw some Youtube videos." Sarah said thankful she actually made sure there actually were videos. After a moment of silence, she continued, "So, I'll see you and your friend in a week?"

"Yeah, definitely."

"Okay, see ya then."

"Bye. And thank you for this opportunity!"

"You're welcome, Chloe." She said, and then they both hung up. Once again, Sarah opened up another tab. She pulled up the airport's website. It was a pretty expensive flight for two people in first class, but with her and Beca's money combined, it wouldn't be a problem. She booked the tickets, and then went to website that hotels listed. She found the nicest hotel and booked a suite. Then, she e-mailed Choe all the info.

Sarah closed all her tabs except the Facebook one; she might as well creep on the girl.

...

The next day, Beca headed up to the studio ready to hear what Sarah's idea for the album. She started working on a mix, and it was about an hour before Sarah showed up.

"So, what's this idea you were thinking about yesterday?" She asked. Sarah smiled at her.

"I thought we could some unknown artist and have them make the album with me. We could duet a few songs, and they could do a few solos."

"That's actually a really good idea. I'm impressed." Beca smirked. Sarah stuck her tongue out. "I was serious. So, who should we get? Where do we even start?"

"I've actually already taken care of that. She and her friend will be here in about a week. I expect you to help me pay for them though."

"You already found someone? Who? And how much are we talking about here?" Beca asked.

"Yes to the first. It's a surprise to the second. And, if we split it fifty/fifty then it isn't that much." Sarah answered. Beca sighed.

"Alright, I'm in. This person better be worth it."

"Oh she is. She definitely is."

...

The rest of the week went by painfully slow for Beca. She really wanted to know who the singer Sarah got was, but Sarah wouldn't say anything. The day they got to meet was here, and Sarah seemed a little too excited. She had a permanent smile on her face and kept trying to sneak glances at Beca- which was not working, by the way, Beca wasn't blind. They walked into the building when Beca snapped.

"Will you stop looking at me like that?!"

"Sorry! I'm just excited!"

"Obviously." Beca muttered.

"You should be excited too. This is going to be fun!" Sarah said. They kept walking, and Sarah stopped looking over at Beca, but that smile was still present. Beca didn't know what the big deal was, this was just like any other duets Sarah had done. They finally got Beca's studio and Sarah walked in first. Beca went in after her. The first thing she saw was a very familiar mane of fiery red hair.

"Shit!" Beca exclaimed. She jumped back behind the door before she was noticed.

"Hi! I'm Chloe and this is my best friend, Aubrey." She heard Chloe say. Beca hadn't heard that voice in a while, and God, it was beautiful.

"Hi. I'm Sarah." She heard.

"Where's the producer?"

"Oh, she's... around." Sarah said. Beca needed to get out of here. She couldn't see Chloe, no matter how much she desperately wanted to. She was about to get up when the door opened. "Oh! Here she is!" Sarah exclaimed. Beca pulled her out of the room.

"What are you doing?!"

"I told you. I'm recording an album with-"

"An unknown artist. I know. What I don't know is why that unknown artist is the girl I fell in love with in college!" She angrily whispered so that Chloe and Aubrey couldn't here. "I can't go in there! She probably hates me! Oh my gosh, Aubrey's probably going to kill me! The deals off, you've got to find a different producer."

"Beca Mitchell, you are going to go into that room no matter if any of the things you just said are true. You care about this girl, and you need to fix what you did. Now go!" Sarah said as she pushed Beca towards the door. Beca took a deep breath, this was either going to be really bad or really good. She opened the door and walked inside with Sarah right behind her.

"Becs?"

"Hi." Beca said nervously. Chloe didn't get a chance to say anything because as soon as Beca opened her mouth, Aubrey marched right up to her and slapped her across the face. The resounding crack echoed in the small room. Chloe gave Aubrey a pointed look.

"What? She deserved it." Aubrey spat.

"Bree-"

"No, she's right, I deserved it." Beca said. "Look, Chloe, I'm re-"

"Beca."

"No, listen. I-"

"Beca!"

"Chloe, jus-"

"No, Beca. I just... I need some air, okay." Chloe said. She quickly walked passed everyone trying desperately not to let the impending tears fall. Everyone stared after her, and, after a few seconds, Aubrey mived to go after her. Beca grabbed her arm, and the tall blonde spun around.

"Let. Go." She said briskly.

"No. I need to go after her." Beca said.

"And you think I'm going to let you?! You broke her heart! You didn't even try to pick up the pieces! No, you ran!"

"You think I don't know that? You think I don't care? Running away was the biggest mistake I've ever made, and if you think I forgot about her, then you're mistaken. Forgetting her is impossible! Not a day has gone by that I haven't thought about her and remembered how broken she was." Beca paused, and then continued, her voice barely above a whisper, "Her touch, her smile, her laugh... it's all still in my head." Her last sentence lingered in the air, and Aubrey turned away from her.

"Go." Beca looked at Aubrey, and then ran out of the studio after Chloe. Once she was in the building's lobby, she looked for Chloe, and, not seeing her there, she exited the building. She looked around, hoping to see the red head nearby. Beca walked down the sidewalk looking left and right, and, finally, spotted Chloe in a small coffee shop across the street. She quickly crossed the street and entered the shop. Chloe hadn't noticed the brunette come in, so Beca got in the line trying to figure out what she was going to say to the red head.

Beca kept sneaking glances at Chloe from in the line. She was beautiful, and if it were anyone else, they'd say nothing was wrong with her. But Beca knew better; Chloe was hurting, you could see it in her eyes. They weren't lit up like they used to be. Beca was pulled out of her thoughts when the girl behind the counter asked what she wanted.

"Uh, I'll have one hot chocolate with a little bit of vanilla, and a caramel macchiato with extra caramel."

"Coming right up." Beca waited for her order, she still had no idea what she'd say to Chloe; she'd have to wing it. When her drinks were ready, she paid the worker, took a deep breath, and walked over to Chloe. She sat down across from and slid the hot chocolate to her.

"Hey." Beca said. Chloe looked up at her and smiled.

"Hey." Beca motioned to the hot chocolate, and Chloe took a sip of it. "You remembered."

"I remember a lot of things." Beca paused and took another breath, it was now or never. "I need you to listen to me for a few minutes before I lose my nerve. After that, you can run out of here screaming, punch me in the face, or whatever you feel like, okay?" Chloe nodded. "I'm going to start off with an apology. I never meant to hurt you, Chloe, and I'm truly sorry. I shouldn't have ran, I should have talked to you, and I certainly shouldn't have ignored you... I really miss our friendship, and, what I'm trying to ask here is, are you willing to forgive me?" When Chloe didn't speak for a while, Beca started getting more and more nervous.

"What you did hurt, Beca, but... you're apologizing now, and that really means a lot." That last sentence sounded like it needed a 'but' at the end.

"But?"

"And," Chloe paused. "Yeah, I forgive you." Beca smiled at her, a real genuine smile. Chloe beamed at her.

"So, how are you? I want to know everything about Chloe Beale." Beca said, smile still etching her features.

"Well, I'm still me, so you already know everything. The only major difference is that I'm a teacher now."

"What do you teach?"

"Music. At an elementary school."

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! The kids, they have the wildest imaginations, and the way they just grasp and accept everything is just amazing." Chloe said. "But, enough about me, what about you? I know you're a big time music producer, but what are you hiding in that head of yours?"

"Oh, you know... same ole' same ole'." Beca said with a shrug.

"Alright, I see how it is." Chloe said while sipping her drink. After a moment of silence, she spoke agan, "Okay, we're playing a game."

"A game?"

"Yes, a game. I'm going to ask you a question, and you're going to answer it, but you have to finish it with a question of your own." Beca sighed. "Please, Becs." In that moment, as soon as Chloe said her nick name, something inside Beca clicked. She had lost Chloe once before, and she wasn't about to do it again.

"Alright." Beca said. Chloe beamed at her, and that made whatever she was about to go through worth it.

"Okay. Um... what's your favorite month and why." Chloe asked.

"That's a weird question." Beca stated.

"Answer it."

"February. It's all bad ass with its 28 or 29 days. Cats or dogs?"

"Dogs. Harry Potter or Twilight?"

"Harry Potter. Where did you come up with this game?"

"I saw it in a movie. Do you think it's stupid?"

"Nothing you do is stupid." Beca mentally kicked herself. Chloe probably doesn't want Beca to say things like that, it probably hurts her more... but Beca couldn't stop herself. Chloe is like a drug, and Beca's been on withdrawal for far too long. "Er... I mean, no. It's not stupid. What's your favorite color?" Of course, Beca already knew the answer; she just needed to change the subject.

"Purple. Should we head back to the studio soon?" Chloe asked.

"Yeah, but I have one more question. Are things going to be back to normal between us?" Chloe didn't answer. "I mean because I really missed you and you're my best friend and I don't want things to be awkward between us because I-" Chloe put her hand over Beca's.

"Yes. Things are going to be normal between us, Becs." Chloe said. "Are you going to run away?"

"Never again."

XXXXX

A/N: This was going to be the last chapter, but I thought the story would flow better if I stopped here and saved the Bechloe-ness for the next chapter (which will be the last). Um, so yeah, tell me what you think and the next part will be up soon. Probably Tuesday or Wednesday. I want to make sure it's good.