Early Mornings

Right from the get go, Beca Mitchell loved sleep. She regarded sleep as high in her life as she placed her music. It didn't mean she spent all her time sleeping, but to put it simply, you risked death if you woke her.

(She knew she'd have a bad time at Barden. Because her classes were early and Beca didn't do early. Or even semi-early. Anywhere before lunchtime was considered breaking into her sleeping patterns.)

And then she met Jesse Swanson, who was the perkiest, cheeriest, most morning person in Georgia and possibly in the world.

"Good morning!" Jesse said brightly, as she shuffled into the station at seven thirty (for their only early shift). She just stared at him with a look that would make the devil himself cower, taking in the crates of CDs.

(How were there always so many CDs? Did Luke go around and pull them out just to give them something to do? She bet he did, the asshole.)

"Does he not know the alphabet?" she grumbled, pulling out a small pile to see Justin Beiber's face staring back at her.

"So I was thinking we should watch Rocky next", Jesse said (sounding more like he was talking to himself, rather than to Beca). "Yeah, to continue your movication, I think we'll watch Rocky. What do you think, Beca?"

(He knew early mornings weren't her thing, but he tried his best to engage her in conversation. Because Luke would have a field day if he came out and found her napping against a shelf.)

"Jesse?"

"Yeah?" he glanced over at her.

"I don't care".

"I'm hurt, Bec". He feigned pain, his smile giving him away.

"Please, you're always hurt". Her eyes twinkled, despite the deadpan look on her face.

Good morning! Enjoy Bellas practice, I'll see you at the station.

Who the hell did Jesse Swanson think he was?

He had texted her at seven thirty.

Seven thirty a.m.

He had texted her and woken her up.

So, she furiously called him and waited impatiently for him to answer.

"You jerk!" she croaked once he answered.

"Good morning!" Jesse said brightly.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" she demanded.

"I figure the last thing you need after yesterday's little workout is to be late and need to do cardio wearing the heels that, I quote, the devil designed". Jesse shrugged.

She frowned slightly, looking down at the blisters on her bare feet that still burned.

(The last thing she needed was to deepen the blisters.)

"I'll see you at the station", she said instead, putting the phone down.

"See you later Beca", Jesse said into thin air.

Somehow amidst the goings on within Barden University, Beca got used to the early morning texts.

It didn't mean she liked it, but she had gotten used to them.

Sometimes, he just texted her 'good morning'.

(Jesse had learned from his movies that if you texted a girl good morning, you had the ability to make her entire day.)

Other times, he continued their banter from the day before.

Sometimes it was just a smiley face.

Either way, with every text, Beca found the boy weaselling himself a little further into her heart.

During spring break, she didn't receive one message.

And that was what hurt the most.

On the night after the finals, despite him being in the next room, he still texted her. He texted her good night.

And he texted her good morning.

(Aubrey, being an actual morning person, saw the phone light up and woke up Chloe just to grumble 'I told you she had a toner for Jesse'.)

(Beca chose to ignore her.)

"Awww", Stacie cooed. "Beca's in love!"

"Shut up Stacie".

"Awww!" Fat Amy grinned.

(They all made note of Beca not denying it.)

"Good morning", Jesse whispered to her, and she buried down a little further into the blankets, leaning against him. Smiling sleepily, her eyes met his, and he wrapped his arms a little tighter around her.

(If that was what she was going to wake up to, she might even become a morning person.)