A/N: This chapter kinda jumps a few POV's...Catherine's, Chloe's, and a bit of Aubrey. I didn't want to post it without clarifying that since the story has been centered about Beca's POV.
"Guest"- I KNOW you don't like Catherine, but as I've repeated a thousand times, this is Bechloe endgame. There's billions of fanfics where Chloe and Beca are just suddenly together and I didn't want to write a carbon copy of those. This is more realistic and it adds more room for character conflict/growth and a decent plot.
To everyone else, thank you so much for the reviews! I love that I have over 100, it makes me feel really special lol. Anyways, don't worry about anybody getting hurt...everything is going to fall into place and I am going to spare everyone's feelings...for the most part ; ) Without further a do, CHAPTER 18! Keep the reviews coming, weirdos.
Catherine walked into Brewed Awakenings sporting a grin and ran a hand through her tousled hair. She swiftly raised her sunglasses to the top of her head and began to scan the menu intently, realizing she couldn't quite remember how her girlfriend took her coffee. Sighing in defeat she whipped out her phone, prepared to spoil her surprise breakfast for Beca and ask the DJ what she wanted when suddenly she recognized Chloe sitting at a corner table alone. She grinned as she stepped out of line and headed over to the redhead.
"Hey Chloe!" Catherine greeted with a pleasant smile. The redhead looked up from her school work and formulated a gentle smile at the girl.
"Hey Catherine…what are you up to?" Chloe asked, pretty surprised that the petite brunette had approached her. It was obvious that Beca hadn't divulged that much about the redhead to Catherine, much like she hadn't told Chloe about her as well.
"I'm just grabbing some coffee and breakfast. I noticed that Beca frequents this place so I thought I'd check it out for myself." Catherine explained.
"That's nice." Chloe responded. Realizing it could come across as rude, she continued. "Um, I'm just doing some schoolwork…you know, senior exams and all that."
"I bet you're swamped. With that and the Bellas, I can't imagine you being able to find time to cut loose." Catherine said.
"Speaking of which…you're going to Beca's gig on Saturday right?" The brunette questioned.
Honestly, Chloe wasn't planning on it. The rest of the Bellas were going and she thought it would be better if she was absent due to obvious reasons although she knew the other girls would ask and bring attention to whatever it was that her and Beca were. It didn't help that she now had Beca's girlfriend interrogating her about it as well.
"Actually, I'm not sure if I can. I have this prior obligation and…" Chloe began to lie but was cut off by Catherine.
"Cut the crap, Chloe. I know you and Beca are fighting, but this means a lot to her and she's not the type to just come out and say it but God, she really wants you to be there for this. Did you know this is her first real gig?" Catherine said straight forward, which Chloe was not expecting. Had Beca told her why they were fighting?
"Don't worry. She didn't give me details of the fight or anything, I know that's between you two. I'm just worried because she's pretty upset. I mean, Beca doesn't cry, like ever and last night I was almost certain she was going to cry when talking about you Chloe." Catherine told her.
"What? Really?" Chloe questioned.
"Yeah, it was heartbreaking. I don't like seeing her like that." Catherine said, gesturing to the seat across from Chloe, earning a nod in response and Catherine took a seat.
"Did she, uh, say anything about it to you?" Chloe probed. She obviously wasn't going to have this conversation with the younger girl but she wanted to know exactly what she knew.
"Nothing about you or the fight, really. She just mentioned she felt awful and hates not talking to you, which is a no brainer because that girl is all misery and needs a ball of sunshine like yourself in her life." Catherine explained.
Chloe took a deep breath and sighed.
"I went and saw her just the other day and apologized for yelling at her. Other than that, there's not much I can do. It's something that's kind of out of our hands and it's probably best if we get some distance between us. If you'd excuse me, I really have to get this done before rehearsal today." Chloe said.
Catherine put her hands up. "Look I don't know the entire situation and I honestly don't want to meddle but I just wanted you to know that Beca's upset and nervous and that's a deadly combination."
Chloe just shrugged. "I know her well enough to know she'll be fine. She's a smart girl."
"We both know that, but she's human and whether or not she shows it, she needs people. She needs you, Chloe." Catherine said. "I'll let you get back to your studies, but I just have one question for you."
Chloe responded with a raised eyebrow. Dear God the redhead hoped that Catherine wasn't about to ask her if she and Beca had ever hooked up.
"How does Beca take her coffee?" Catherine asked with a pleading look.
Chloe just chuckled and proceeded to explain to the younger girl how the brooding DJ preferred her coffee.
Catherine strolled up Greek Row with a tray holding two coffees and a couple of breakfast sandwiches in a bag tucked between them. Her sunglasses were still on her head as she fished in her purse for her keys as she approached the sorority house, pausing the action when she saw her girlfriend sitting on the steps smoking a cigarette. Initially frowning, she couldn't help but smile as she approached the DJ. Her hair was ruffled just as hers was from the previous night and she was wearing skinny jeans with selective rips in them along with her usual flannel and black boots. She looked absolutely gorgeous as she raised her sunglasses and greeted Catherine.
"I thought you left forever." Beca half joked as she grinned up at Catherine, extinguishing her cigarette due to the fact that Catherine didn't really enjoy kissing an ashtray.
"Well, I thought about it. But then I got distracted by this coffee shop and decided I should reward my girlfriend's hard work last night with some of her favorites." Catherine slyly replied. She handed a coffee to Beca, as well as the bag of sandwiches and took a seat beside her, watching as the brunette relished her first sip. "I also got some sugar on the side, I know that you sometimes like it?" Catherine added, although it was more of a question vs. a statement. Up until an hour ago, she hadn't known that about Beca.
"You're amazing; this is the best coffee ever." The DJ told her as she took another sip and kissed her girlfriend on the cheek. Catherine just giggled.
"I'm glad you like it." She said, leaning her head on Beca's shoulder as she stirred her iced coffee with the straw.
"So I was thinking, Saturday night after your gig, we should have an after party here. You and all your aca-pella friends can come. I'd love to meet them, and that seems like it would be fun."
"It does sound fun. I'll tell the girls at rehearsal today." Beca said as she glanced at her phone and stood up. "Which reminds me, I've got to get back and work on that mix. I'm meeting the girls at 3 and I really need to perfect it."
"No worries, get to work bitch." Catherine said with a smirk as she smacked Beca's ass, receiving a wink in response. Beca placed a soft, endearing kiss on Catherine's lips and threw her bag over her shoulder.
"I'll text you later." Beca told her as she made her way down the steps and headed back to her dorm.
Across campus, Chloe made her way out of the coffee shop and headed towards the freshman dorms. She knew it was a bad idea, she was probably going to see something she didn't like and she didn't even really know what to say to Beca. Everything in her was telling her to distance herself from the young brunette but she just couldn't, she knew why, but she just wished it was easy. Like with Tom, when it was easy to stay away from him and ignore his phone calls, even when he had said he missed her and genuinely meant it, she could've cared less and at one point in her life she swore she was in love with Tom. Now, here she was, hung up over a stubborn freshman and couldn't come to grips with the fact that in a short two months, they would be out of each other's lives. If only she had told Beca sooner about how she felt or vice versa, things could've been different.
Chloe quickly made her way up three flights of stairs in Baker Hall and proceeded down the corridor towards Beca's room, only to see the brunette coming..Or going. She slowed her steps as she approached and as Beca opened the door to her room, she noticed the redhead.
"Chlo? What brings you here?" Beca asked, her nerves showing as clear as day. It was easy to see she was uneasy with the older girl and Chloe hated how they always went from being comfortable, to Beca hiding behind her carefully cultivated walls again. Chloe began to play with her hands, the awkwardness making its way from Beca to Chloe.
"Can I come in and talk to you? I want us to have an honest conversation, Becs." Chloe confessed.
"Sure, come on." Beca said, pulling Chloe into her dorm and feeling relief upon seeing her potential serial killer roommate wasn't there. Seriously, where does she even go anyways?
Beca and Chloe stood awkwardly for a few minutes before Beca spoke.
"You know, you can sit down if you want. You never had a problem with making yourself at home before." Beca joked. Chloe let out a laugh. It felt good to laugh with Beca again. She sat in Beca's desk chair as Beca took a seat on the bed, eyes intently focused on her.
"I was hoping..Well, first of all, I can't not talk to you. I can't keep myself away from you. Which fuckin' sucks because that's kind of all I want to do, but at the same time I don't. I get why you didn't tell me about Catherine, sort of, but I don't like it. I don't like feeling this way. Like I was used almost, but I know I wasn't…I know you didn't use me but for some reason that's what it feels like. I was, am, hurt by this whole situation Beca and I know it's sort of my fault because I had told you straight up that we couldn't be together. But I still felt, I still had feelings invested and I need you to know that's why I yelled at you. That's why I'm still fuckin' pissed off, but I can't be, because you're Beca and I care about you so much and this sucks. It sucks that I can't be mad at you like I would somebody else who fucked me over. I know you had feelings too, so I know this goes both ways, but I need my friend back Becs. I leave for New York permanently in May and I need you in my life, I need someone to call and complain about Aubrey too and I need someone to text about my good days and my bad days. I'm gonna need you to make me laugh and feel better when I'm missing home and letting everything get the best of me. Can we please be best friends again Becs?"
Tears were forming in Chloe's eyes as she choked out the last sentence.
"Chlo, of course we can be best friends." Beca told her. Immediately Chloe threw her arms around the brunette in a tight embrace, which caused the brunette to topple backwards onto the bed. The two were laughing hysterically as Beca tried to squirm out of Chloe's death grip.
"No, jack! I'll never let go!" She said, squeezing the DJ tighter.
"Jesus, Chloe! You're going to kill me before we even get to the ICCA's and show everyone up!" Beca exclaimed. Their laughter slowed and Chloe eventually removed herself from the brunette.
"Speaking of the ICCA's, can I hear what you've come up with?" Chloe asked with her pleading baby blues that Beca still couldn't refuse. Beca quickly pulled up her files and readied the one called BellasFinalMix1.
"This is the one I wanted your advice on." Beca explained. "Let me know your thoughts…I still feel like it's missing something."
Chloe nodded and listened intently as the track began to play. Price Tag was one of Chloe's favorite songs and she immediately smiled as she heard the beginning. As it transitioned into Don't You Forget about Me, Chloe gave Beca a playful, knowing nudge and proceeded to bop her head to the music. She loved the way that the brunette had kept Just the Way You Are in there as well, a song Aubrey really liked and would definitely appreciate. As the track ended, Beca looked to the redhead for her thoughts.
"Well? Just lay it on me." Beca told her. Chloe put her finger to her lips, it looked like she was doing some serious thinking and Beca began to worry. "Oh God, it sucks doesn't it? It's totally lame. Aubrey is going to be so pissed at me for this…" The brunette started to trail off with her worries.
"Becs, shut up, it's great! It just needs something. What were you toying with before you assembled it like this?" Chloe asked. This made the DJ grin because Chloe knew how she worked, she knew she made several versions of mixes in which she played around with a bunch of song choices before deciding on the one that was absolutely perfect and scrapping the others.
"Well, I was thinking of sampling Party in the USA at some point during the bridge." Beca told her.
"Awesome, I think that's a good idea. Definitely use a clip from the chorus because that's the best part of the song." Chloe advised, sitting on Beca's lap and pulling the song up on her iTunes. Inside, Beca was jumping for joy at the close contact with Chloe. She had really missed the redhead's invasion of her space.
"I had also built the song around a couple of hip hop songs, but I wasn't sure how'd they'd go over with the judges." Beca said, taking the mouse from Chloe and opening another file.
"As long as it's not too raunchy or vulgar, it'll be fine. They're not as old fashioned as some people might assume. Clearly they don't appreciate our old routine of the classics." Chloe told her.
"Okay, so tell me this then. Pitbull, or Ne-Yo?" Beca asked with a serious expression.
"Duh, Pitbull! Definitely Pitbull." Chloe answered, and Beca just grinned as she quickly went to work, rearranging a few things and pushing all these knobs and dials. Chloe felt like she should move out of the DJ's way and almost did but as if the DJ could read her mind, she looked at her and told her she was fine, and went back to focusing on the effects.
After a couple of hours, the track was ready and the girls were excited about practice.
"We work really well together, Becs." Chloe said as they were getting ready to leave Beca's dorm and head to the auditorium for rehearsal.
"Was there ever a doubt in your mind that we did, Chlo?" Beca asked with a genuine wide smile as she held the door open for Chloe.
"No. There really never was." Chloe answered as she gave Beca an adoring look and the two made their way out of the dorm.
The finals mix was an instant hit with the girls and they immediately got down to business, starting with the vocals. Beca was insistent on showcasing all of the girl's talents and suggested Lilly throw in some beat boxing as well as giving Fat Amy a part that would highlight her powerful voice. By the end of the 4-hour practice, they had half of the vocals down pretty well and ideas about choreography were bubbling as well. Agreeing that they would all meet the following day for another long practice, they decided to call it a night. Before leaving, Beca announced to the girls that after her gig on Saturday night there would be a party at Catherine's sorority house.
"Jesus, she's a sorority chick?" Aubrey whispered to Chloe as Beca was explaining the details of Saturday night to the girls. All of them were asking questions about Beca's girlfriend and how they met.
"Apparently." Chloe scoffed, turning to grab her water and her bag from the nearby piano with Aubrey in tow. "I don't know much about her, and I'm pretty sure Beca hasn't told her much about me, hence why she approached me in the coffee shop today and suggested that I make amends with Beca."
"She threatened you!?" Aubrey asked
"Bree, please, it was anything but a threat. She literally just talked to me about Beca and me fighting, and in the end she was right. I'm Beca's best friend…she needs me and I need her." Chloe reasoned.
"Yeah, just not in the way you want." Aubrey replied.
"Look, it doesn't matter what I want…Beca seems happy. And I'm her friend and I support whatever or whoever makes her happy…even if it fuckin breaks me. I don't have any right to say anything anymore, it's my fault we're not anything so it is what it is." Chloe told her co-captain.
"Whatever you say, Chlo." Aubrey said with an eye roll. Aubrey had a feeling that this situation was far from dealt with and would be blowing up in one way or another at some point.
"You guys are coming Saturday night, right?" Beca asked as she walked over to the two seniors who were gearing up to leave.
"Of course. You know we wouldn't miss it, Becs." Chloe responded with a smile as she put her hand on the younger girl's shoulder.
"Awesome. Catherine is excited to meet and hangout with everyone." The DJ added as she turned to gather her things.
"Sounds great." Aubrey bit out, knowing that Chloe plus liquor plus her jealousy was not going to be an aca-awesome combination upon seeing the girl she loved with another girl all night.