Disclaimer: Still don't own Pitch Perfect.
AN: Thanks for all of the reviews, favorites, followers, and just people who are reading the story. I know I said Chloe would be in this chapter, but this one kind of got away from me and before I knew it, it was longer than I expected. I didn't want it to be too long, so I cut it off. If you don't mind the longer chapters let me know. Chloe is definitely in the next one though and that should be up really soon, so I hope you don't mind the wait. Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy this next chapter!
Beca let herself fall down back onto the couch and closed her eyes as she finally let herself relax a little bit. They were just about done unpacking. For once she counted herself lucky that they didn't have a lot of stuff. It made it that much easier to move places. It was not even a minute later when she felt the couch dip next to her and then a small body was snuggling up to her. The corner of her lip curled ever so slightly, but she kept her eyes closed. Not many people were allowed to touch her, okay no one was allowed to touch her. The exceptions to this rule were Matt and Sophie. Everyone else got her patented death glare that was pretty effective for scaring people off. Now though in her new home with just her family, she didn't mind the closeness so much. It was comforting.
Without a second thought she brought her arm around her little sister and trapped her in between her arms as she tickled her. Sophie let out a delighted squeal as she tried to get away, but Beca wasn't letting up until she heard the safe word.
"Sissy! Sissy! Stop!" Sophie laughed and Beca laughed along with her, "Not until you say it!"
"O-kay, y-you're th-the best DJ ev-er!" Sophie finally got out between breaths. Beca immediately stopped her tickling and Sophie was finally able to catch her breath. She settled back into Beca's side and Matt after hearing the commotion came and sat on her other side. Beca peered down at Sophie and saw that she had a satisfied smile on her face. Beca would never tire of seeing that smile.
"So, what do you guys think of our new place?" Beca stretched out her arms around each one of her siblings as she asked and they all took a look around. Beca was looking more at her brothers and sisters appraising looks and they both looked back at her at the same time with identical grins.
"It's great!" Matt exclaimed.
"The best home ever!" Sophie said at the same time.
Beca grinned at both of them and pulled them closer to her. For the first time since she could remember she felt content. She had everything she needed right here and more importantly they were all safe and sound. No more dangerous people coming and going into their place. No more being woken up in the middle of the night by strange noises. It was all going to get better from here on out, she promised herself and her siblings.
Their little moment was cut short though as a loud pounding sounded at the door. "Beca! I know you're in there! Open up!" And cue the wannabe parental figure. Just when things were starting to settle down too. Story of her life. She stood up with a sigh and then looked down at Sophie and Matt who had slightly scared looks on their faces. She hated that look on their faces and so she smiled reassuringly.
"It's fine. It's just my dad. Why don't you guys go to your room and stay quiet while I get rid of him." She tossed in a wink and a smirk to ease them. It worked instantly as they both relaxed and made their way to their new room. She waited until they shut the door before she went to answer the door. She gave herself a little pep talk before she finally released the latch and opened the door.
"Why, hello father. Long time no see." Beca greeted him with her signature smirk firmly in place. She might have had to mature more quickly than others but that didn't mean she didn't know how to wind up her dear old dad. It was almost too easy since he was already clearly angry at her. She took it all in stride knowing that this confrontation was going to happen at some point, so she had prepared for it. She had been hoping it wasn't going to be this soon, but alas she did not have that good of luck. Typical. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
Beca watched as the vein on her dad's forehead pulsed as he tried to calm himself down. She still hadn't invited him in, so he just stood there taking deep breaths as she watched on in slight amusement. She also took this moment to look him over and saw that he hadn't changed much over the years. He still wore his tweed jacket and vests with tie ensemble. His hair was maybe a little bit longer, but still looked disheveled like it always had when she was younger. He would run his hands through his hair while he was reading and since he read a lot it would stay in this semi-presentable state. All in all he looked the way she had always remembered him, just ten years older. A few more gray hairs here and there, but the same old nerdy dad.
"Well, Rebecca, it's good to see you." Her father finally got out. By this point Beca was leaning against the doorjamb with her arms crossed over her chest looking bored. Geez, he would not have made it in her neighborhood. "I would have been here sooner, but it seems I got the wrong place." And this was what she was waiting for.
"Ah, yeah, you see I figured it would be best if I had my own place, you know to study and all," she gave him her best innocent look before she continued, "and when I called the administrative office to ask them about it, they agreed wholeheartedly. I mean I tried to tell them that it wasn't necessary, but they were like, no, you are the Dr. Warren Mitchell's daughter and you deserve the best. Now how was I to argue with that?"
So what she had just said was a load of bullshit, but she knew her dad well enough to know that he would at least be a little appeased at her flattery. He always did have an ego, so she figured her best bet was to play on that. She saw that his anger had definitely settled down by the end of her statement, but she knew she wasn't out of the woods yet.
"This place costs extra, Beca, and it's not necessary." Her father finally decided to push his way past her and into the apartment. Beca glowered at his back, but by the time he turned back to her she had her smirk firmly in place again. She learned long ago how to hide what she was feeling easily. It was better to remain aloof because people never expected anything from someone they thought was dumb. That's how she got her way out of a lot of sticky situations.
"But, dad, I thought with the extra space and lack of roommate I would be able to study better. I mean that's why I'm here isn't it? To get a degree and graduate with honors and what not?" Beca waved her hand for emphasis.
"You don't need your own place to achieve that goal." He seemed a little less annoyed since they were talking about academics, but Beca could tell he wasn't sure whether she was being serious or not. "And having a roommate-"
"Would just be a distraction." She interrupted him. "You know me. I get easily distracted and then I can't focus on anything. With a roommate they could make me go to parties or watch movies or whatever else college kids do these days and I think it would be best if I stayed here."
She saw him seriously considering everything she had said. That was definitely a good sign. He was thinking about it. She was halfway there and if she had to she could always pull out the you left me speech and then he would just feel guilty enough to leave her be. She didn't like using that card, but if she had to then it would be done. After a moment she heard him sigh and she knew she had him.
"If, and that is a big if, I allow you to stay here then you have to keep your grades up. If I see them dropping below a B average then you are out of here. I mean it Beca, you have to work for this place and if I don't see that then you're back to the other dorms and a roommate." Beca nodded in understanding. That seemed fair, but damn was it going to be hard. Her eyes shot over to the closed bedroom door for a second and her shoulders set in determination. She would do it for those two that she had no doubt were listening on the other side of the door. They needed this place and if it took her getting good grades then she would get good grades.
"Deal." Beca vocalized just so that her father knew she was taking this seriously. She even held out her hand for him to shake and his face broke out into a smile. She had to work really hard not to roll her eyes, but she did it and held his gaze so that he could see her determination. His grin only grew at the sight. God, he made it so difficult to be mature, Beca thought.
"Great! Now have you been out to the quad, yet? There is lots of stuff going on out there." Now that the moment had passed she had no trouble rolling her eyes now at her father's comment.
"No, dad, I haven't had the time yet. I just finished unpacking all of my stuff." Her father then looked around and nodded in what she thought was approval. She wasn't really sure, it had been a long time since she had last seen him and it would take time to be able to read his facial expressions again.
"Right, well, you should check it out. The students lay out on the grass in the spring and it's really nice out there."
"Hmmm…sounds like fun." She said noncommittally. It was really taking a lot of energy not to be completely sarcastic right now. She hoped this trying would pay off in the end. There was an awkward silence after that and Beca had no idea what to say. What could she say to her father? Probably something to make him leave would be best. The kids were most likely getting antsy just waiting in the other room.
"You know what, I think you're right. I think I will go check out the quad. I believe I heard something about an activities fair?" She questioned lightly as she led him over to the door.
"Yeah, there is." He smiled at her, happy that she was trying to get involved. "You should totally go check it out." She raised an eyebrow at his lingo, but otherwise didn't comment on it as she ushered him out of her apartment.
"You know I could walk you over-" he started, but Beca quickly cut the idea off before it was even finished.
"Dad, not that I don't appreciate the gesture, but it would be kind of lame to be walking around with my dad on my first day of college." She hoped he wouldn't take that the wrong way, not that she really cared about appearances. She just didn't want to be around him for that long, especially with Matt and Sophie in the other room.
"Oh, of course, of course." He smiled sheepishly as he stood in front of her door in the hallway. "I guess I'll be seeing you around, then. You can expect me to check in from time to time. Just to make sure you're getting along ok." She scowled slightly in response to that statement. She didn't need him checking in on her she could take care of herself. She bit down on the inside of her cheek to stop herself from snapping at him. She was almost home free and she didn't want to spoil what she had accomplished so far. "I also wouldn't mind if you came to my office just to say hi every once in a while." He looked so hopeful that she felt her anger just dissipate from the look on his face. For some reason Beca couldn't just crush his hopes like he had done to her when she was little. So she did the only thing she could, "Sure, dad."
It was probably a good idea anyway. It would make it less likely for him to check in on her and possibly finding out about Matt and Sophie if she went to his office every once in a while.
"Great! See ya, Beca!" He replied happily.
"See ya, dad." Beca went to close the door, but stopped when her dad held out his hand.
"I'm really glad you're here, Beca." He said meaningfully. All of a sudden, and Beca had no idea why, but a lump formed in her throat at the sentiment. He sounded like he really meant it, like he really wanted her here. Maybe it wasn't too late for them to fix their relationship after all.
"Me too, dad." She gave him a single nod before she finally closed the door. She let out a breath as she leaned against it. She didn't think seeing her dad would be so emotional. At least she had told herself over and over again that she wasn't going to get emotional. She had invested so much of herself into her father and he had let her down so horribly she wasn't ever sure she could forgive him. But just being in his presence right now after so long showed her that she really hoped one day that she could forgive him for leaving her.
"Can we come out now?" A small voice broke her from her thoughts. She immediately straightened up and shot the two little heads peeking out from behind the door a smile.
"Yeah, you guys are in the clear. He didn't suspect a thing." Beca told them and they both bounded out happily.
"Yes!" her brother fist pumped in the air.
"Yay!" Sophie launched herself at Beca's legs.
"That's right! You guys did really well too. I didn't hear a peep at all." Beca praised them for how quiet they had been. They had learned the hard way that it was best to stay quiet when she told them to. It was something they never forgot and something she didn't either. Luckily, now, things started to be turning out pretty good for them.
"Hey, are you really going to that activities fair you were talking about?" Matt asked her and Beca shrugged in response, "That was more just to get him to leave, but do you guys feel like going out. It would probably be good to get some fresh air. We've been inside all day and we could stretch our legs. Maybe even scope out the place. See what it has to offer."
"Yes, yes, please!" Sophie chirped from beside her and clutched her shirt. Beca just chuckled and shook her head. "Yeah, that sounds cool!" Matt added on.
"All right, go get your shoes on and we'll head on over to the quad. We can check out what they have around here. Maybe we'll stop and grab a bite to eat while we're out." Beca agreed. The two of them bolted quickly and before she knew it she was locking the door to their new apartment. With her sisters hand securely in hers and her brother on her other side she felt like they were finally heading in the right direction as they made their way over to an activities fair.
AN: As a sidenote Sissy stands for sister. It's what Sophie calls Beca. Anyways, hope you liked it and thanks for reading!