As retarded as it sounded, the riff-off was actually something Beca found herself capable of getting into. See, this was the very thing Beca loved about music; spontaneity.
After a few wack songs and the High Notes being cut off for being too, well, high, Beca found herself rolling her eyes as Jesse mock serenaded her with Foreigner's "Feels like the First Time." Jesse loved all those classic rock songs and she couldn't help but laugh at his goofy smile and awkward dance moves. Suddenly, it dawned on her of what she could do to make Jesse shut up. She ran to the center of the pool and got right in his face.
"It's goin' down, fade to blackstreet, the homies got RB collab' creations, bump like acne, no doubt.." She rapped effortlessly as she noticed the expressions on mostly everyone's faces drop and heard sounds of encouragement from onlookers above.
She kept rapping as she turned around, looking to the Bellas for some back up, but slowly realized they definitely didn't know what the fuck she was singing.
"Keep going" Jesse whispered encouragingly.
"Shorty get down, good lord, baby got em' up open all over town…" She sang smoothly as she noticed Fat Amy coming up on her right to join her
"Strictly biz, she don't play around, cover much ground, got game by the pound!"
Finally the Bellas kicked in and started backing her up in full force and it eventually turned into a pool wide sing along of "No Diggity." Beca looked around in amazement. She had done this. She had revived an old jam and got everyone in sight to sing along. It was a remarkable sight. The best part of it all was seeing Chloe swaying and singing with sultry eyes and a sexy grin that Beca could of sworn was aimed at her.
After Aubrey had lectured them on losing, along with totally ignoring Beca's comment, the group dispersed and she felt an arm snake around hers.
"Becs, that was amazing! How come you never told me you could rap?!" Chloe asked as she pulled Beca closer.
'Really? That's all I had to do to get her to touch me? Go figure' Beca thought
"You never asked me if I could rap Chlo. Am I supposed to just run up to you and tell you random facts about myself every chance I get?" She asked with a sly smile.
"Actually, I'd prefer that since getting anything at all about yourself out of you is like brain surgery." She replied
"Please, I'm not that bad," Beca began as she received a look from Chloe.
"Okay, maybe I am. But find something else to compare it to. After you made me suffer through all of that Grey's Anatomy, I've decided brain surgery isn't actually all that hard."
"If I ever need brain surgery, you are NOT performing it" She teased with a chuckle.
"I'm serious, you're really something else Becs"
Beca could feel her cheeks getting warm from her blush and shook it off quickly.
"Are you going to the after party at the Treble house?" Beca asked. Chloe raised her eyebrow at this.
"What? Don't give me that look."
"I thought you hated parties! You always decline when we try to get you to go to one." Chloe replied
"Well, yeah. I don't know…it could be fun. Jesse wants me to DJ which is actually the only reason I agreed to go, but geez, could you make me sound any more anti-fun?"
"Oh you're fun…. Fun-sized!" Chloe said as she jumped onto Beca's back, piggy-back style.
"C'mon! Let's go to the partyyyy!" Chloe shouted as she threw one hand into the air.
Beca realized right then and there that she had never felt quite as right as she did when she had Chloe's arms around her neck.
The party was about as cliché and stereotypical as it could get, but for once Beca didn't mind any of that. She actually enjoyed socializing with the other acapella groups, but above all, she loved controlling the music that everyone was partying to. She could always sense the mood and find the perfect song for it, be it current or old, each song just seemed to flow so well when she was handling it.
"Hey, loser!" A voice greeted her from behind. She turned to see Jesse, wearing a pompous smile, and holding out a drink towards her. Jesse was obviously a little drunk himself.
"Hey, asshole" She said casually as she accepted the drink and took a sip.
"You do know that you won on a technicality, right?"
"Well, well. Look who's suddenly competitive and defensive of their beloved acapella group." Jesse teased
"I'm just saying it for the record. I'm still mostly doing this so my dad will help me get set up in LA next year."
"Uh huh.." Jesse replied, obviously not convinced
"Well, here comes that other reason that you're doing all this for" He said, winking and swiftly making an exit. Beca raised her eyebrow at him and then saw Chloe making her way over to where Beca was DJing. She quickly chugged some of her drink and tried to make herself look busy and not distracted by Chloe's presence, because let's face it, looking pre-occupied totally makes you seem cool, right? Right.
Except Beca couldn't quite keep her composure whenever Chloe was around and the second she heard her sweet alcohol infused voice, she couldn't help but crack a goofy side grin.
"Um, excuse me, miss DJ...I have a request!" Chloe, getting right up in Beca's business, per usual.
"I told you Red, no Limp Bizkit…ever" Beca said as she sipped her drink and toyed with some settings on her turn table.
"No, no, THIS is even better." Chloe half slurred
'God she is so fucking adorable when she's tipsy' Beca thought
"Okay, lay it on me, what awful pop song do you want me to play so that your night is made?" Beca asked with an amused smile. Their banter had to be her favorite part of talking to Chloe. Well, that, and staring at her chest. She had an amazing body, and Beca wasn't normally the type to obsess over looks, she was definitely way more into personality, but Chloe had the perfect combination of both and that drove her absolutely wild.
"I want to hear one of the songs you put on my CD...I think it's number 8" Chloe said
"You listened to it already?" Beca asked
"Uh, duh. What else did you think I was going to do with it?" Chloe asked
"Right, of course. I don't know why I just said that…" Beca replied, slightly embarrassed
"It's probably because you're actually drinking!" Chloe said, pointing to the cup in Beca's hand
"What are you drinking, exactly?" She reached over and grabbed Beca's cup and took a huge swig.
"Wow, whiskey? That explains so much about you..." Chloe said, handing the cup back to Beca
"I don't even want to know what you mean by that."
"No, you really don't" Chloe replied with a wink
"C'mon, play my song!" she whined as Beca was once again brought back to reality after containing the urge to lose her shit over Chloe winking at her once again
"Chill out, Beale, let me ready the track" She replied as she tried to focus on her set up with Chloe right in face.
Chloe squealed with excitement as "Harlem" by New Politics began to blast through the speakers. Chloe began to dance and seemed to cause an infectious reaction because mostly everyone else at the party began to join in. Beca was even surprised to see Aubrey getting down with the rest of Bellas and Trebles and laughed as she realized that she too was drunk.
"I fuckin love this song!" Chloe yelled into Beca's ear as she came back over from dancing. Beca knew she'd absolutely love it, hence the reason she put it on the CD she made for her. She liked knowing that about Chloe…little things. Mostly she enjoyed how much music brought them closer, and how surprised she was to find out that Chloe wasn't just into bubbly pop, but that she loved indie rock and electronic. Biggest turn on ever.
"I need another drink" Beca said as she motioned for Chloe to come with her. They quickly made their way to the kitchen through the crowd of people and over to the huge display of liquor.
"You're so awesome at Djing Becs, I've never seen everyone stop what they were doing at a house party and just start dancing" She complimented while Beca made another, slightly stronger, drink.
"Honestly, it's easy…if you know music, and you can read a crowd, it just comes sort of naturally" Beca replied
"But yeah, I am fucking awesome at it" She said grinning as she took a sip if her drink. Chloe rolled her eyes sarcastically at Beca's egotistical comment.
"You should show me the basics sometime, I'd like to know how it's all done" Chloe replied
"Really? You're actually interested in it?" Beca asked
"I wouldn't ask if I wasn't." Chloe said matter of factly.
"Well, I'll definitely show you a few things…that is, if I can find time in my rigorous academic schedule." Beca said
"Sounds DOPE!" Chloe exclaimed with the most adorable laugh as she again made fun of Beca's way of speaking.
"Chloe! Here you are! You have to come to the garage, we're playing beer pong! It's Adam and myself and you and Tom, we're playing next!" Aubrey shouted as she drunkenly emerged and pulled Chloe out of the kitchen with her.
Chloe laughed at the state of her best friend, "I'll see you later Becs!" She exclaimed as she tailed behind Aubrey.
Of course it had to be Aubrey of all people who had come and stole Chloe away from Beca.
'I hate that bitch even more now' Beca thought to herself as she downed the rest of her drink in the spirit of defeat and decided to go find Jesse.
"Well, at least she didn't leave" Jesse said. She had found him in the basement playing video games with a few of the other Trebles and casually pulled him aside to bitch and moan. She loved that they had been able to get over the awkwardness and just move on as really good friends. He was the only one who even knew her true feelings about Chloe and obviously the only person she could talk to about it at all.
"No. She didn't. She just ran off to go play couples beer pong with Aubrey" she scoffed
Jesse sighed and shrugged his shoulders.
"Isn't there a golden rule about not getting involved with straight girls, like ever?" He asked
"Yes, dude, I know all that. I can't help that I like her and better yet, it's reaching like this borderline obsession. I want to throw myself off of a bridge for the way I'm acting."
"Just tell her how you feel. That's truly the only thing you can really do about all this…frustration, Bec" He told her.
She just winced at him and shook her head.
"That's so gay." She responded shaking her head with a laugh.
"Anyways, I'm gonna pack up and split. I'm all set on this night" She said, slightly disappointed.
"Let me just grab my jacket and I'll walk you home." Jesse replied. Beca nodded and headed upstairs to grab her stuff.
Beca wasn't sure what exactly she was expecting to come from the night, but she did know she was far more frustrated than ever before. She wasn't mad at Chloe, she wasn't mad at herself, and she wasn't even really mad at Aubrey. She was mad at the universe for dangling the most perfect girl in front of her, knowing that she could never really have her. The more time she spent with Chloe, the more her crush intensified, which at the rate they were hanging out, was not good. She knew, however, that if she didn't hang out with Chloe, she would be far more miserable. So yes, here she was, back at square one, cursing herself and the god damn friend's zone.
What's a crush to do when she can't get through?