Beck was pleased to discover that after induction, all of the inductees from each acapella group were brought together for the first time at what he considered the coolest and simultaneously the dorkiest party ever. The four groups scattered across the outdoor stadium, the sky black above them as they blasted their music and drank from the kegs set up near the bottom.

Everyone seemed to be having a good time, he thought, except the bitchy blonde from the Bellas, who was scowling at all the Trebles every single chance she got. Despite her friend's glares, Beck approached Chloe, giving her a half smile.

"Well if it isn't my favorite Bella," he greeted, causing her to break out into a grin.

She stepped forward, grabbing the bottom of his shirt playfully.

"And the only decent Treble," Chloe murmured, looking into his eyes, "it's a pity you couldn't have joined the High Notes or the BU Harmonics, we could've had some fun together."

He raised his eyebrows, "who says we can't now?"

Chloe gestured across the way to the blonde, "Aubrey, she has this thing where it's in the Bellas rules that we're not allowed to be with a Treble," she sighs like she thinks it's the stupidest rule ever, "and Aubrey's my best friend, I'm not just going to defy her like that."

Despite Chloe's insistence that they couldn't do anything, Beck was still excited by her words. She'd basically outright admitted she was into him, and that if it wasn't for Aubrey, she'd go for him. That was a first; actually, as Beck hadn't really been with anyone since he'd realized he was transgender. It was a lot for someone to process. Of course, Chloe didn't know and he wasn't sure how she'd feel if she did know, but just knowing inside that he passed completely and that she actually genuinely liked him made him feel unbelievably happy.

"At least let me get you a drink, no harm in that, right?" Beck offered.

She shrugged, dancing a little too closely to him, not that he minded, "this ginger needs her jiggle juice!"

Laughing he made his way down to the beverages, snagging them each cups and joining her again near the top of the stairs. Beck could feel Aubrey's gaze on him but he tried to ignore it. Instead he handed Chloe the plastic cup of beer and she thanked him, immediately downing it in an impressive time.

"Thirsty?"

Chloe nodded, "A little. Come dance with me!"

He didn't have the ability to fight her as she pulled him down with everyone else, a gigantic mass of bodies dancing to the techno song pumping out of the speakers. Beck tried to loosen up a little bit even though he didn't normally dance, and he probably looked like a total tool.

"Chloe, can I talk to you for a minute?" Aubrey interrupted while squinting her eyes mirthfully at Beck and pulling Chloe away from him.

He couldn't hear their voices over the music, but Aubrey looked pretty angry. Her eyebrows were knit together seriously and her mouth was opening too widely for normal talking, plus her forehead was doing this unattractive crinkling thing as she yelled. Chloe stood there with crossed arms, looking like a bitter teenager being scolded. She might have actually rolled her eyes.

After the lecture was seemingly over, Beck was thankful when Chloe made her way back to him.

"I gotta go," is not what he expected to come out of her mouth.

"What? Why?" he asked, disappointed that she was leaving already and wondering if Aubrey's words and chastisement had actually gotten to her.

Chloe gave him an apologetic smile and a kiss on the cheek before running off up the stairs after a group of girls he assumed were in the Bellas with her. He sighed as he watched her leave, her body getting smaller and smaller as she faded away into the distance. Concentrating on Chloe's absence left him a little out of it and Beck jumped a bit when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He spun around without thinking, raising his hands like a ninja about to strike.

"Whoa, cool it," Jesse held up his hands in defeat before Beck relaxed, "Tough break, man," he commented in reference to what he'd just witnessed.

"Yeah," Beck muttered, finishing his beer and pouring another, not bothering to wipe the foam that had settled onto the top of his lips. It wasn't like he had anyone to impress.

His roommate patted his shoulder before awkwardly withdrawing his hand.

"You two were like destined to be together man, you're an acapella boy and she's an acapella girl, you're gonna have acachildren, it's inevitable," he explained, obviously quite drunk, "sure, it's not going to be easy but you'll win her, right, like John Cusack in Say Anything, you could stand outside her window with a boom box and win her heart!"

"No one uses boom boxes anymore," was all Beck could say.

"Fine, then, your iPhone. Point is, man, any girl worth being with is worth fighting for! Am I right or am I drunk?" Jesse laughed.

Beck chuckled lightly. "Maybe both."

After the party drew to a close, Beck and Jesse returned to their room. It didn't take long for his roommate to pass out in bed, giving Beck some much needed time to himself. He got on his Macbook and slid his headphones over his ears, hunching over in the most comfortable position as he worked on tying the two tracks together.

He had heard some interesting songs tonight and thought they'd sound nice together in one of his mixes. When Beck had an idea he couldn't rest until he carried it out, and so he spent the next thirty minutes interlacing the songs until they sounded perfect. He shut off his computer and curled up in bed, thoughts about a certain redhead leading to some very pleasant dreams.

The next day was the start of practice, something Beck was dreading more than anything. Bumper ran rehearsal like the Bumper Show, everything was always about him and he didn't spend much time focusing on what mattered. Beck wondered how it was they managed to win the past several years without the dedication he imagined they would have.

But they did sound pretty dope together singing Don't Stop the Music, and the choreography flowed effortlessly. They only got better the more they practiced, too, and he knew that they'd kick ass at sectionals. He wondered vaguely what the Bellas were doing, secretly hoping he'd run into Chloe again, whom he hadn't seen since that night.

Classes were whatever, he thought, attending some and ditching others, but still managing to do well on all of his assigned work. Beck spent his time out of class and rehearsals sleeping and working on mixes, as well as doing his required work at the radio station where he was interning. The guy who ran it was an arrogant asshole, but he'd grown used to being bossed around, being sent for lunches and stacking an atrocious number of CDs. Because he thought this would be a good experience for him, or so he hoped.

The day of sectionals snuck up on him and he found himself growing nervous for his first public performance with the group. Something about acapella singing made Beck feel much more vulnerable than performing with a band.

But everything went just as well as in rehearsals, if not better. The crowd loved them and even Beck enjoyed the sound and sight of screaming girls. He got so into it at one point that he touched some girl's hand and he swore she almost fainted. It was like being in a boy band or something.

After their performance, the Trebles got to sit back and watch the others. Beck watched raptly as the Bellas performed. They sounded good, that was a given, but their routine was boring and tired. He liked Chloe's bit—he thought she had a better voice than Aubrey—but the entire thing was lacking substance. There was nothing cool about it, he thought as he looked around and observed the audience, who looked even more displeased with their set than he did.

He wasn't sure why he cared so much, but Beck approached the Bellas after sectionals, giving them what he thought was friendly advice. He told them that they should try to use updated songs, including those made famous by males, and that maybe their set would be more enjoyable. He tried to stick some positives in there, too, though, complimenting Chloe's voice and offering the girl with the large breasts a wan smile. But Aubrey didn't take it well at all.

"Aca-scuse me? What gives you the right to tell the Bellas what to do? Why should we take advice from you? This is probably a tactic; a plan of Bumper's to throw us off. Well it's not going to work, so you can go crawl back to your little dirt balls and we'll see you at the Riff-Off, where we will undoubtedly own your ass!" Aubrey was fired up and Beck just grinned at her.

"It's a cute ass," the large chested girl behind Aubrey commented, looking over at Beck's behind.

His jaw clenched a bit and he mumbled a thank you, repeating to Aubrey that he wasn't trying to screw with her, but that he was genuinely trying to help. There was no use trying, though, because she didn't believe him. The look of surprise and adoration that Chloe gave him was almost worth it.

The Riff-Off, it turned out, was almost akin to a rap battle. The four acapella groups (although to be honest, only two were worth a shit) met in a drained pool to duke it out for a lame microphone used by Hoobastank. Hoobastank wasn't even a good band and Beck didn't really give a shit about the mic. Winning the Riff-Off was more for bragging rights than anything else.

The first category was 80s females which wasn't something Beck knew, but Bumper jumped right in with Mickey. He sang along, feeling like a total douche singing this song, and actually thankful when the BU Harmonics jumped in to sing their rendition of Like a Virgin.

By the time the next category rolled around, they were singing about sex. At least this was something he knew about.

The Bellas started an impressive version of S&M, and Donald cut them off with Let's Talk about Sex, which was predictable. It was Jesse who eventually jumped in singing Feels like the First Time, a goofy grin on his face due to his excitement about being able to contribute.

The Bellas cut Jesse off, though, Chloe starting to sing Britney Spears' If U Seek Amy, her counterpart the large-bodied woman whose name actually was Amy, seemingly pleased by the song choice. It was when they were more than halfway through the song and it seemed like the Trebles were going to lose that Beck got his idea.

He stepped forward and interrupted this line "I've seen her once or twice before she knows my face, but it's—"

"It's going down fade to Blackstreet, the homies got at me, collab creations funk like acne…"

The Bellas looked impressed and surprised at the song choice, and Aubrey especially didn't seem to recognize the song. But Beck spit it out with precision as the Trebles backed him, grinning over at Chloe triumphantly as they rounded out the song.

"We out," Beck said, crossing his arms with a smirk on his face.

The Trebles won the microphone, thanks to him, and as Chloe came over to begrudgingly congratulate them, her hand lingered on his for a moment. He felt electricity coursing through his body and as he was about to ask her if maybe she'd like to get coffee sometime, she was dropping his hand and stalking off with the other girls.

Beck sighed, being pulled into a celebratory Treble pile that was more gay than not.

That night he had trouble sleeping, still thinking about Chloe's insistence that they couldn't be together. It hadn't seemed like such a big deal until Aubrey came between them quite literally, tearing Chloe away from their dancing. He'd been having such a good time, too. It wasn't often Beck found someone he could vibe with, someone who made him smile and break out of his antisocial shell the way Chloe had. But it didn't matter if she wouldn't see him. Aubrey would make sure of that.

That's why he was so surprised by the event of the next morning.

Beck had been lifting weights when he saw her, the petite redhead walking quickly into the gym. He put down the weights as she approached him.

"Good mo—"

He wasn't even able to get the words out before she slid onto his lap and curled her arms around his neck, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.

"What was that for?" he asked when she pulled away.

"I had to kiss you after seeing you rap last night. No Diggity's like one of my favorite songs of all time," Chloe was still seated on his lap, "Remember what I said the other day about not defying Aubrey?"

Beck nodded, wondering if she'd changed her mind. It seemed that she had, if she was going around kissing him like this. Not that he minded.

"Well, I've decided I don't give a shit what Aubrey thinks, it's my last year on the Bellas and she's my best friend, it's not like she's going to kick ME off the team," she reasoned, her fingers sliding across his hairline on the back of his neck, "I like you, and she's just going to have to get over it."

Beck smiled, his hands awkwardly settling to her waist as he looked into Chloe's eyes, trying to figure out if she was being serious.

She was.

"I like you too, Chloe," he murmured.

"Well, duh," she teased, pulling him in for another kiss.

Someone else walked into the gym and looked over at them, causing Beck to push Chloe gently from his lap. He apologized under his breath and asked her to meet him at his room later. She agreed, squeezing his hand excitedly before she hurried away.

Beck finished the rest of his workout with a smile on his lips. He didn't let it all sink in until his shower, looking down at his body and remembering what he'd been trying to forget. He wasn't quite a normal guy, and Chloe was under the impression he was…how far could he take things with her before she figured it out?

He had to tell her that he was transgender, but he was at a complete loss as to how. He was afraid more than anything of scaring her away. Because now she was willing to be with him, what if the news that he wasn't quite like other guys sent her running back into Aubrey's arms?

He sighed, getting dressed and walking leisurely back to the dorm with a lot on his mind. Beck liked her a lot already, and if he allowed this to escalate any further, his feelings would only grow more serious. He owed himself and Chloe the truth.