"Becs, easy on the tacos. We'll be back soon." Chloe was amazed at how fast Beca was shoving tacos in her mouth. She could tell that the younger girl was stress eating, it happened the week of finals and three days before Worlds. That was a different time but Beca was still the same Alt girl who ate too many tacos because they were her favorite. After Beca moved into Chloe's small San Francisco apartment the two girls spent a day exploring and Chloe happily played tour guide - showing the younger girl all her favorite places she would frequently visit in her time alone in the big city. Chloe remembered it like it was yesterday, Beca spent most of the day complaining about how hungry she was even though they ate breakfast nearly two hours ago. After walking past the firehouse they used for The Princess Diaries and watching Beca freak out (Chloe found out that it was her secret favorite movie. It was the only movie she would pay attention to during Bella movie night. Although she couldn't argue, it was a classic movie.) the girls decided to find a place to eat. They stumbled upon a tiny taco shack behind a laundromat, it was the closest place so far. Before Chloe could argue Becas hands were already on the door inviting her in and announcing that this was the coolest taco place she had ever seen. Ever since then they had a taco tuesday date night once a month at Taco Mesa. The staff knew them by name and even had a table waiting for them each time.
"Okay babe, we really need to go. Are you going to clear them out of tacos or what?" Chloe was still shocked at how many tacos Beca had inhaled.
"Fine, I'm done. I will miss you sweet tacos….. Maybe I should start making music for the Taco Mesa commercial. I think that would make me cooler th..." Before Beca could finish speaking Chloe was already laughing and cleaning up their trash. They had an hour before their flight and Beca was already losing her mind. She slowly got up, finished her drink and went to open the for her bride to be. Chloe slapped Beca on the thigh as she walked out the door, she knew this was the time to mess around with her - just to keep her from overthinking, besides they had tons to talk about on the plane.
The car ride to the airport was filled with the playlist Beca made Chloe before she moved to San Francisco, it was the only CD that was frequently played on repeat. Neither of the girls said anything there was just a simple understanding that music could say more than words ever could. Beca knew that Chloe wouldn't mind her silence, besides most of the time she was staring at the engagement ring on the redheads finger. She still couldn't believe all of this was happening. After her parents divorce she never thought she'd be this happy, but here she was about to take her fiance to her mother's house. Going through security wasn't a problem and it took less time than anticipated and thankfully their flight didn't board for another 20 minutes, so Beca had time to get coffee - she knew that Chloe was itching to talk wedding things and she needed all the help she could get to make it look like she was paying attention.
"Chlo, do you want coffee?" Beca was already digging in her wallet not paying attention to the redhead. After a few seconds when there wasn't a response Beca finally put all of her attention to Chloe. Her face was pale, she was nervously playing with her engagement ring while chewing on her bottom lip and her feet were tapping. All of her nervous habits were out in the open, which never happened to the bubbly redhead.
"Oh no, did we forget something? Chloe I told you that you should have calmed down instead of trying to get me to shower with you!" Beca couldn't help but raise her voice but Chloe was acting strange and she didn't like where it was going.
"What if your mother doesn't like me? What if she doesn't want you to get married to someone like me?" Her voice was almost a whisper, like she had been defeated. There was fear in her eyes and her heart felt like it would jump out of her chest at any moment. These things didn't happen to Chloe Beale. She was always confident, she could charm her way through anything and make someone love her with just a smile.
Beca sighed and took Chloe by the hand pulling her out of her seat. She knew that there would only be one way to fix a nervous Chloe. Beca took the redhead in her arms and held her until she calmed down. She would hold Chloe as long as it took for her to feel better, this is where the walls of Beca Mitchell were nonexistent. Yes, she would write music with Chloe in mind and yes, she would hold her hand while they crossed the street but holding Chloe in a public place, well that Beca Mitchell would have never existed if a certain redhead wasn't around.
"You know that everything is going to be okay. My mom loves you, remember that time she called and you guys talked for like 3 hours? What could you even talk to my mom about for that long? Chlo my mom loves you more than she loves me!" For a second Beca thought that her words of affirmation worked, Chloe had a small smile on her face and the worry seemed to disappear. But as soon as the flight attendant called for everyone to board the plane the worry slipped back into the redhead face and Beca could feel the tension rise up into Chloes shoulders.
"Stay right here, I'm going to grab some coffee and then we can get on the plane. Do you want it cold or hot?" Beca knew the answer to what seemed like the stupidest question in the world but she was doing everything she could think of to get the redhead to calm down just a little. She knew that Chloe wouldn't respond and took off as fast as she could to the nearest coffee cart. Thankfully they made coffee in record time and good coffee at that. She rushed back to her bride to be as quickly as her feet would take her and managed to gather up all their things before boarding the plane. She knew that she had two options on this 3 hour flight…. sleep or talk to Chloe about wedding things. Since Chloe seemed to be in no shape to be left alone with her thoughts wedding planning was the only option Suddenly Beca felt just as nervous as Chloe did.
"Alright ladies and gentlemen, we have reached our desired altitude and now we will be turning off the seatbelt sign. Please enjoy our complimentary wi-fi and enjoy the rest of your flight, We will be in Houston in approximately 3 ½ hours." The captain's voice was deep and it mostly sounded like he was trying to rap, which made Beca giggle at the idea of an airplane captain in a riff-off.
"Hey Chlo, are you feeling better yet?" The redhead had been staring out the window since they sat down. Beca was worried but knew that as soon as they landed Chloe would be back to her normal all too happy self. Instead of answering her question Chloe just turned to Beca and gave her a light smile and returned back to gazing out the window.
The younger girl was getting annoyed with the lack of communication between the two, they had never had a problem with airing out their issues. The 3rd week of Beca living with Chloe they had gotten into a slight argument about the hours Beca would be coming home at. She told her that she'd be home at 7, who knew that Chloe would spend the rest of her evening getting dinner ready and setting the apartment up for a candlelit dinner. When she arrived at the apartment around 10:30 everything appeared to be as normal as ever and Chloe was in bed - which was normal since she got up at 7 every morning. Beca went to the fridge and noticed that there was wine already poured in two glasses and plates that were wrapped in foil. She knew that Chloe was up to something and needed to find out what. Of course she felt bad for coming home late when they had planned to eat dinner and watch a movie - of Becas choice of course. When she opened the door to her bedroom she found Chloe working on her laptop. The older girl should have been in bed by now and Beca was confused as to why she was still awake.
"I'm sorry I'm home late, I lost track of time. It won't happen again Chlo. How was your day?" Beca tried to make everything as normal as possible because she could tell that the older girl was angry. The silence almost made everything worse and she began to get ready for bed. Chloe was still working on her laptop and Beca didn't understand why she didn't respond. This was only the second time since moving here that she was late and the first time Chloe seemed fine with it.
"Are you going to talk to me or just play on your computer?" Beca was annoyed that Chloe seemed to overlook her. She wasn't in the mood to argue but if that what it came to she would be prepared. Afterall shutting people out is what she does best.
"You didn't call. I made dinner and planned a nice night for us but you never called." That's all Chloe had to say before Beca knew she was in the wrong for being so harsh earlier. The redhead just went back to working on her computer.
"Well sorry dude, I lost track of time like I said. I ran all the way back here though, I didn't want you to stay up and worry." Beca knew she should have called.
"You didn't want me to stay up and worry? How about you call me and tell me not to worry Beca!" The way Chloe said her name made the younger girls heart hurt. This was their first big blowup and neither of them were prepared.
"Next time I'll call." That's all Beca said as she got in bed, kissed Chloe on the cheek and went to sleep. The argument wasn't over but Beca was tired and had a headache from being in the studio all day. This particular argument lasted for 3 days - there was silence, awkward run-ins with each other as they were trying to get ready for work and quiet dinners. It took them 4 hours to clear everything up. It was mostly Chloe yelling about her failed attempt at a nice night and the fact that she didn't call. Beca was never late after that, she made sure to be home before the clock hit 7. She knew to call if she was going to be late and she knew that avoiding everything would never work with someone like Chloe. Today was different though, this was the kind of silence that could last for days, the kind where Chloe would show the world how happy she was but only show Beca how sad she was. Honestly, Beca wasn't ready for anything that was about to happen. She was excited to see her mom, but mostly she was excited about watching Chloe interact with her mom. These were her two favorite women in the world (no one tell Fat Amy) and it was important to her that they love each other. Beca knew there was only one way to make Chloe smile, to get her out of her mind and back to the real world where she belonged.
"Do you want to show me the stuff you have planned for our wedding?" Before Beca could reach for Chloe the redhead was already back to her normal self.