A/N: Thank God for Spring Break! More will be posted as early as tomorrow depending on the reviews I get ; ) so R/R please!
Beca was never one for talk about her feelings, and she sure as hell wasn't one for group therapy as well, but when she suggested that the girls get to know each other a bit since they didn't really know too much about one another outside of the basic stereotypes they all fit, the feelings just started spilling out. Secrets, confessions, and clarities were all revealed one by one as the girls sat in a circle and attempted the new approach at bonding as way to hopefully help make them stronger as a group. Beca was pulled out of her distant thoughts as Chloe confessed she had her nodes surgery and the group gasped in a mixture of shock and absolute panic, even Aubrey looked as though she had no idea how to control the situation presented and we all know what happens when Aubrey loses control.
"Beca, what do we do?" Aubrey asked with a pleading look on her face as she turned towards to the brunette.
Suddenly all eyes were on Beca. She gulped, noticeably uneasy at all the attention, but obviously she knew she could take care of the situation at hand. She took a deep breath and looked around, tired of the pressure and stuffy atmosphere of the auditorium, she knew they needed a change.
"Alright. I've got an idea. But maybe not here…" She told them.
The girls followed her to the empty pool, the same spot where the riff off was held towards the beginning of the year. It was the one time where Beca really felt like they were an actual group. The riff off was when they had showcased their talents, individually and as one. Little did any of them know, that was the night they had created a sound all their own. All they needed to do was come together and expose it to the aca-world.
"Let's remix this business!" Beca said as she pulled the girls closer. "Aubrey, would you pick a song for us please?"
"Bruno Mars, Just the Way You Are." Aubrey told her with a confident nod.
Is she serious?...whatever, I guess I can roll with that. It's an easy key and chord progression.
"Okay…Chloe? Are you okay to take the lead?" Beca asked, turning to the redhead with an optimistic look.
"Yeah." She told her with a nod. It was the first time the entire practice that the ginger had actually looked her in the eyes and responded, though it was quick.
Beca breathed a sigh of relief and began to sing the main melody to "Just the Way You Are" as the rest of the Bellas girls added various parts of the songs instrumentation. Without missing a beat, Chloe jumped right into the first verse.
Oh, her eyes, her eyes
Make the stars look like they're not shinin'
Her hair, her hair
Falls perfectly without her tryin'
She's so beautiful, and I tell her everyday…
Beca had listened intently as she kept the girls on beat and as Chloe finished the first part of the first verse for "Just The Way You Are" she jumped in with the chorus from the song she knew would mesh perfectly with it.
Uh, uh
I was thinkin' bout her
Thinkin bout me
Thinkin' bout us
And who we gon' be
Opened my eyes, it was only just a dreeeeeam
It was only just a dream.
Beca couldn't even hide her smile as she saw the excited faces of the girls before her, loving the way the two songs fit perfectly together. The DJ gave Aubrey a nod as she jumped in with the next part of "Just a Dream" as Chloe started the chorus for "Just The Way You Are".
When I see your faaace
(So I travelled back, down that road..)
There's not a thing that I would change
(Will she come back? No one knows)
Cause you're amazing
(I realize)
Just the way you are
(Yeah, it was only just a dreeeam)
Beats being Beca's specialty, she began to stomp and clap in time with the lyrics to get the perfect rhythm going and the girls quickly joined her in doing so.
It was electric. Everyone was in sync and everybody blended beautifully with the two songs, just as Beca knew they would.
And don't think for a second that Beca was too distracted by her musical creation to notice that it was like Chloe and her were practically alone in singing to each other, just like in the showers many months ago.
Hopefully her idea for Nationals would save her and Chloe's friendship.
As they finished, the girls looked at each other with excitement and Aubrey huddled everyone in close.
"Hands in aca-bitches!" She said as they did their signature 'ahhhh'
With only a month left until the ICCA'S, the girls had some serious work to do but now that they were all on the same page, Beca was confident that they could do it. Aubrey had left the music up to Beca, which was no surprise after the pool practice, and the other girls would all work on the choreography for it. Immediately Beca got into her zone and began working on the perfect mix for the girls to sing.
Beca was working diligently at her desk when the sensation of soft kisses on her neck pulled her out of her focus. She smiled, removed her headphones and turned to see a gorgeous Catherine beaming at her.
"You're working awfully hard. You should take a break; give your eyes a rest." Catherine told her as Beca pulled her into her lap, wrapping her arms firmly around her girlfriend's waist.
"I know I should. I just want this to be perfect but I'm kind of stuck and I'm really feeling the pressure since I have to show this to the girls in a few days." Beca said with a sigh.
"Give me five minutes of your time…maybe I can clear your head?" Catherine propositioned as she pulled Beca up and gave her a slight push onto the bed before straddling her and pulling her into a searing kiss. Beca moaned as she felt Catherine's tongue begin teasing hers. She quickly wrapped her arms around Catherine and pulled her down in an attempt to get her impossible closer to the DJ which elicited a surprised squeak from the girl on top of her. Beca couldn't help but grin at the sound and began to let her hands wander further south down Catherine's skinny jeans, settling on her ass and giving it a firm squeeze as Catherine began to kiss and gently bite her pulse point, which drove Beca wild. The friction between their jeans was more than enough to distract the DJ from reality but the sudden pounding at the door quickly pulled the couple's attention from the task at hand.
"What. The. Fuck." Beca said with a frustrated sigh after Catherine pulled herself off of her. With a fierce groan and an un-amused look on her face, Beca straightened out her clothes and answered the door only to be met with a neurotic Aubrey.
"Beca! I've been calling you and texting you. I need to hear what you have so far, I'm going crazy! ….um, did I interrupt something?" Aubrey paused her nervous rant and eyed the two brunettes knowingly.
"Yeah, kinda." Beca answered bitingly just as Catherine answered no.
"I'm Catherine, Beca's girlfriend." Catherine said as she walked over.
"Aubrey Posen." The blonde responded.
"I was just heading out. Beca's stuck and could use your help." Catherine told Aubrey, before turning to Beca with a grin.
"Gee, thanks babe." Beca responded sarcastically. Catherine pecked her on the lips before parting.
"I'll see you later Bec." Catherine said as she left with a wink.
"Nice to meet you Aubrey!" she yelled over her shoulder as she walked down the corridor of Beca's dorm.
"Hm." Was all Aubrey could respond with as Beca rolled her eyes and gestured for the uptight senior to enter her room.
"You know, you don't need to check up on me. Especially not this early." Beca told her.
"I told you I trust you Beca, I'm just going crazy not knowing. Granted it's barely been 24 hours, I'm just so anxious. I just need this to be perfect." Aubrey said walking over to Beca's desk. "What are you stuck on?" she asked, pulling the headphones out and resuming play.
"I need a few more samples to round it out. I'm sure I'll brainstorm something eventually, I've just got a lot on my plate at the moment." Beca told her.
"On your plate or in your lap?" Aubrey asked. Beca rolled her eyes.
"None of your business." Beca bit back.
"Whatever. She seems nice, I guess." Aubrey said in a disapproving tone. Beca ignored her comment and sat back at her desk, resuming her work.
"You and Chloe aren't talking, are you?" Aubrey asked.
"Again. None of your business." Beca repeated.
"It's just an observation. I'm not trying to pry into your oh-so guarded secret life." Aubrey said.
"Good, because I'm not trying to talk to you about my oh-so guarded secret life. I'm trying to perfect a mix here." Beca informed her with annoyance.
"Fine, whatever. Let me know when you get over your music block. We need to get a routine started as soon as we can." Aubrey replied as she headed for the door.
"Ay, ay, captain." Beca responded giving the older girl a mock salute before shaking her head and turning back to her work.
Beca would have been pleased if that had been her only surprise visit of the day. Unfortunately for Beca the universe almost never bends her way and she found herself visited by multiple Bellas that day, most stopping by to apologize for the Semi-Finals fiasco and not defending her and also to let her know that they were happy she had the reigns (for the most part) now. Jesse had stopped by as well to supply the DJ with more energy drinks and to see how she was fairing.
"Any ideas?" A weary Beca asked Jesse after explaining she had hit a road block. The treble just shrugged as he popped open an AMP energy drink (Beca's favorite) and handed it to the girl.
"Not a clue. This is so your forte." He told her. "But if you want to talk about Chloe, I'm your guy." He added as he flashed a smile at her.
"Jesus Christ, I feel like everybody is so obsessed with Chloe and me that they have completely forgotten their own lives." Beca sighed out in frustration. Why were people so concerned? They're friends who had a fight, for fucks sake, it happens.
"Not obsessed, just concerned with the brunette in the equation." Jesse clarified.
"Which one?" Beca asked with a smug grin on her face, referring to Catherine. Jesse rolled his eyes, and Beca ignored it, taking a huge sip of her energy drink as she remained focused on the screen in front of her.
"You should ask Chloe for help. She could probably figure this out for you." Jesse suggested.
"Ha, ha. Good one, Jess." Beca responded dryly.
"I'm being serious. Chloe loves the music you listen to, she could probably tell you what sample to add or whatever tweaking it needs. You'd probably be able to think better if this problem with Chloe was solved." Jesse advised once again.
"It's not going to be resolved. We can't be together, and we obviously can't be best friends. We're doomed, like all those tragic movies you torture your soul with." Beca said with her signature apathetic tone.
"I've heard that before. And every single time, you and Chloe end up talking and it works out. I don't think this is any different." Jesse told her
"Oh, no. It's definitely different. She's never screamed at me before and the other day was definitely the first and probably not the last. I would really like to avoid all friction, especially since I have a gig on Saturday and I have Aubrey pressuring me to finish this mix, all while trying to balance school and spend undivided time with my girlfriend. I really don't have time or a desire to argue with Chloe, so radio silence it is." Beca explained.
"You're so god damn stubborn." Was all Jesse could reply with. Before heading out, he again urged her to talk to Chloe and told her some of the Trebles would be at her gig and that he was looking forward to it.
About an hour later, as Beca was texting Catherine, she heard a soft knock on her door. Convinced she was just imagining it since she had more visitors that day than the entire year combined; she ignored the sound until she heard it again, but louder. Placing her phone down, she got up and answered the door and was very surprised to see Chloe standing before her with almost an expressionless look upon her face.
"Hey." She said quietly, which was so out of character for the usually bubbly ginger.
"Um, hey." Beca responded awkwardly. She honestly hadn't expected Chloe to seek her out after their heated conversation the other day.
"I know you're busy, but I just came to apologize for yelling at you the other day. I shouldn't have." The senior explained.
"It's okay." Beca immediately responded. "Everybody yells, sometimes." She added. Chloe just nodded.
"Well, I'll see you at practice." The ginger told her before turning to leave. Beca frowned and realized upon seeing the redhead that she didn't want silence between her and Chloe, she actually desired the furthest thing from it. It was easier said than done not interacting with Chloe.
"Wait, Chloe.." Beca began as she reached out and lightly gripped the redhead's arm. Chloe was surprised and looked at Beca with a questioning look.
"I was hoping you could help me with a dilemma in one of my mixes?"
Chloe paused before answering.
"I don't think I can really help you out here, Beca."
"Well, you could try. I think if you gave it a shot, we could…"
"No. Beca, I really can't." Chloe stated. "This.." She started to say as she gestured between the two of them. "I can't. It's hard on me and I need space…I just can't do this." Chloe confessed. Beca couldn't even formulate a proper response. Chloe asking for space was never something she thought she'd hear.
The senior turned to leave again, knowing Beca understood.
"Chlo?" Beca asked in a hurt voice. Hesitantly, the ginger turned around once again. "Thanks for dropping by." She said simply. Chloe just shrugged.
"You should ask Catherine about the mix. I'm sure she'll be able to figure it out for you." Chloe said before leaving. The words stung, and Beca knew why.
Later that night, Beca was over at Catherine's watching a movie of all things in a so far unsuccessful attempt to get her mind off of Chloe and the mix that she still couldn't seem to figure out. Even her girlfriend's teasing touches couldn't distract her from her thoughts.
"What's wrong?" the sorority girl asked with a frown as she raised her head from Beca's chest and looked up at her.
Beca didn't want to get into her issues with Chloe, she really didn't. But with her inability to talk to Jesse and the other Bellas, she decided to give in. Besides, you're supposed to be able to talk to your girlfriend…right?
"I'm kind of…fighting with Chloe." The DJ said in a solemn tone.
"Well, what are you guys fighting about?" Catherine asked, sitting up to face Beca.
"It's kind of complicated. I guess we just disagree on something that's important to both of us and now…now we're not talking and it feels fucking awful." Beca confessed.
"Aw, I'm sorry babe. I take it you tried talking to her?" Catherine asked.
Beca nodded.
"And I'm afraid apologizing to her would just stir shit up. Now I'm not even sure she's coming to my gig on Saturday which really blows because she's supported me from day one here and I don't like the thought of her not being there."
"Wow, what did you do? Kill her puppy in front of her and then deny doing it?" Catherine teased. Beca smiled weakly, just for show. Nothing about this situation amused her at all. Catherine sensed this and pulled the DJ into a hug.
"It'll work out, Bec. I bet Chloe will be there on Saturday. She probably is just having a you moment and needs space from the world. You know she's graduating and leaving and dealing with the threat of the real world so maybe she's just overloaded with stress and needs a break. You've always told me she is a good person and an even better friend, I doubt she'd completely turn on you, I mean how could she? You're charming, and smart, and incredibly sexy. On top of all that, you have this amazing heart tucked under that bad ass façade. I don't think many can resist." Catherine told her
Beca smirked at Catherine's attempt to comfort her. The sorority girl was so sweet.
"It's not a façade." She stated matter of factly. "I AM badass." She defended.
"Mhmm." Catherine responded unconvinced, prompting Beca to pull her close and fuse their lips in a kiss.
"How about I show you just how bad ass I can be in the bedroom?" Beca propositioned as she slid her hands down Catherine's petite frame as she giggled in response. And with that, the two quickly disappeared to Catherine's bedroom for the night.