Chloe was lying to one side on the couch as she skimmed through the contents of her biology textbook and jotted down some summaries in her notepad. She had thought long and hard about what her father had told her over Thanksgiving and concluded that she'd have to seriously crack down on her studies, even if that meant pushing acapella practice aside. Majoring in biology was no easy task, and on top of having two minors - one in which she consistently failed - Chloe knew she was in for a difficult year.
Naturally, she felt guilty for not focusing on the Bellas as much as she had done in previous years. The Bellas had been her driving force all throughout college. She loved to sing, she was good at it, and it provided her with the perfect escape she needed from her responsibilities.
Though Alice's reign of terror was something she'd never wish to remember, the current Bellas - those she and Aubrey recruited themselves - had became a literal family. They were a sisterhood of grand proportions that supported each other and laughed together.
And of course, that included Beca. It was because of the Bellas that Chloe had came to meet her soulmate. Life was all about chance, and deep down Chloe knew that if she wasn't a Bella, her and Beca were unlikely to ever cross paths. Her girlfriend would have been on that plane to Los Angeles within a matter of months, never to return.
It was a terrifying to think that a slight change of Chloe's college experience could result in such a drastically different outcome. But luckily, that hadn't happened, considering Beca was currently fluttering about the house, moving all her possessions from upstairs into the newly discovered basement bedroom they were set to share.
Though she was forever in debt to the Bellas, her education - the reason why she was even at college in the first place - needed to come first, no matter how much guilty felt. She was driven to this conclusion partially because of her father's forewarning in having no more financial support to pay her student loans, but also because it had came to make her realize that being not far off twenty-five years old and still in the process of studying for a degree - that she should have completed at aged twenty-two - was ridiculous. She had neglected her work for too long and had become spoiled by her privileges, which she was ashamed to admit.
When considering that Chad was only two years younger than Emily, and Clayton was set to graduate the same exact time as her, Chloe had every right to feel embarrassed by her position as an incredibly super senior. And she did, now that reality had hit her like a ton of bricks.
Chloe begun colour coding her notes, as she always did, and highlighted a few areas of the page she was on in her textbook. She always preferred to make her work more eye-catching and bold over dreary and depressing.
According to Aubrey, the process of note-taking and highlighting wasn't as effective as most would first assume. She once mentioned that Chloe's study techniques 'lacked effort and utility.' It was evident she knew what she was talking about, considering she had graduated top of her class with a Master's Degree in Law and Politics, yet her criticisms of anything and everything Chloe did convinced her best friend into doing the exact opposite.
Chloe shook Aubrey out of her mind and continued studying, occasionally hearing the clang of Beca's equipment as her girlfriend heaved it down the stairs. Chloe rolled her eyes and put her earphones in.
Beca was so incredibly stubborn and refused all aid from her girlfriend, insistent that she could move everything herself - including Chloe's own possessions. So far, she had been at it for two hours; that time would've been cut in half if she had swallowed her pride and allowed Chloe to help instead of calling Chloe 'a fragile flower that is exempt from all forms of hard labour.' Chloe was far from weak. If anything, Beca was more of a fragile flower; she never exercised unless sex was involved.
Now thoroughly into her music, Chloe didn't hear the front door click open. Emily stepped inside, dragging a medium-sized suitcase behind her. She rolled it into the living room and left it standing upright beside the wall. The house was unusually tranquil, save for the soft singing from behind. Emily turned towards the noise and saw a moderately focused Chloe making her notes.
As much as she loved spending time with her real family, Emily had missed her Bella sisters. Particularly her parental figures. Beca and Chloe had made her feel welcome from the moment she joined, both knowing how intimidating the first few months of college could be.
She smiled and walked over to tap Chloe on the shoulder. Chloe glanced up and grinned at the brunette, pulling her earphones out.
"Hey, Ems." She chirped, arising to give Emily a tight squeeze of a hug. "How was your Thanksgiving?"
"It was okay, I guess." Emily shrugged as she pulled away, slightly suffocated by Chloe's motherly cocooning. "My mom keeps asking when we're going to start rehearsing properly for Worlds. She seems more excited about it than I am."
"We're starting really soon. Beca's in the middle of putting the set list together."
"She is? She didn't mention anything."
Chloe giggled as she sat back down. "That's Beca for you. She'll always spring things up out of nowhere. It's adorable."
"Yeah." Emily nodded, not knowing how else to respond. "How was your Thanksgiving?"
"Eventful."
"Oh. In what way was it-"
"Babe, I've got a question." Beca unintentionally cut Emily short as she walked into the room, headphones coiled around her neck. She gave a nod to Emily. "Oh, hey Legacy. What's up?"
"Hi, Beca." Emily waved. "I just got back from Chicago."
"Cool. Is that why your..." Beca gestured to Emily's cases. "Seem to be hogging all the space in here?"
Emily's smile faded. "O-Oh, I'm sorry about that-"
Beca chuckled. "Dude, I'm just kidding. Don't freak out."
Chloe beamed at her girlfriend. As annoyingly stubborn as she could be, Chloe would always love Beca's close bond with Emily. And for that, she deserved not to have anything else held against her for her earlier comments. "So, what's that question you wanted to ask, baby?"
"Don't you think it's kinda weird you call your dad 'daddy' and...you also call me the exact same thing?"
"See what I mean, Ems?" Chloe looked over to Emily, who smiled in only a slight amusement. The mention of that nickname brought back traumatic memories the younger girl yearned to flush out by any means necessary. She couldn't unsee it no matter how hard she tried. "Always springing things up out of nowhere."
"Hey, that wasn't out of nowhere." Beca defended. "I've been thinking about it this past week-"
"It took you a week to ask me that?" Chloe laughed, looking back at Beca. "Oh my god, you're so cute."
"Thanks, takes a lot of practice."
"And you ruin the moment with sarcasm." Chloe sighed. "Yet again."
"What moment?"
"The moment, Beca. The moment we just had."
"There was no moment. Where's the moment?" Beca put the side of her hand to her forehead, making it seem like she was shading her eyes from the sun. Emily giggled. "Yo, moment, where are you? Get the fuck out here, man. We're waiting. Nope, can't seem to find him. What a shame. I'm sure he was a good moment."
Chloe picked up a cushion and bashed it against Beca's leg. Beca couldn't help but snigger at Chloe's attempt of aggression; even with all of her upper body strength, it still felt like a big, fluffy marshmallow was attempting to make its most lethal attack known to man, but had failed miserably in the process.
"Fuck off and let me study, you asshole." Though she seemed annoyed, there was no missing the gentle curling of her lips. "This is worse than the 'fragile flower' crap you came out with."
"Aw, you don't mean that, do you?" Beca smirked at Chloe's resilience.
"You really can be an ass when you want to be, you know."
"Well, at least it's killed all that 'cute' bullshit you've always got circling in your head."
"Oh no, that's stuck with you for an eternity. Get used to it, Becs."
Beca rolled her eyes as she pushed her headphones over her ears and took her phone out of her pocket to scroll through her playlist. "Oh, the joy."
"Ass." Chloe poked her tongue out and continued to read her textbook.
"Yeah, yeah. You love me really." Beca selected a song and stepped out of the room, staring aimlessly at the bright screen tucked in the palm of her hand.
"She's going to get serious eye strain if she's not careful." Chloe glanced up at Emily once the sound of footsteps slumping down the stairs could be heard. "She can spend up to five hours at a time working on her mixes."
"Wow, I didn't know she was that committed. She must really love music."
"Not as much as me." Chloe grinned, albeit smugly.
"Yeah...so, do you want me to leave and let you concentrate?"
"Oh sweetie, no. You can sit with me. I really don't mind. It's just Beca that distracts me, so I have to get rid of her." She joked.
"That makes sense."
Chloe patted the space beside her. Emily sat down and nestled into Chloe, resting her head on the redhead's shoulder. Chloe smiled and continued making notes from her textbook, messy handwriting scribbling across the page.
"What's made you want to study all of a sudden?" Emily murmured.
"No reason." Chloe hummed as she dragged her highlighter across the freshly written sentence. "I just felt like it."
"Oh, okay." Emily couldn't tell if Chloe was telling the truth or not. It wasn't in Chloe's nature to lie, but Emily had an inkling that there was far more to the story she wasn't hearing.
Beca popped her head into the doorway, headphones back around her neck. "But seriously, don't you think it's weird-"
"Trying not to fail here!"
"Somebody's on their period!" Beca sing-songed.
"I am, actually." Chloe frowned. She didn't appreciate Beca's teasing about periods considering her girlfriend was unable to have them. Beca hadn't the slightest clue as to how awful period cramps could be. "I just started today."
"Oh, uh...sorry, Chlo."
"That's okay. You can make it up to me with our monthly ritual of tummy rubs."
"Of course, babe. Anything to make you feel better." Beca was always accommodating whenever it was Chloe's time of the month. Though it helped that she enjoyed rubbing Chloe's stomach a little too much. "Text me when you've done studying. Everything's been set up downstairs."
"Will do." Chloe nodded. "I'll be about an hour or so."
"Alright. You want me to take your cases, Legacy?"
Emily shook her head. "No thank you, Beca. I can do it myself in a bit."
"So polite. Chloe's raising you well. Back in the day, I would've been a real asshat if someone asked to do a favour for me. I was a lone wolf."
"Babe, that was three years ago." Chloe chuckled. "I wouldn't call that 'back in the day.' And you still don't like it when someone asks to help you out. That hasn't changed, has it?"
Beca smirked and winked. "Unless that someone is you."
"Uh huh, sure."
"Wait, are we thinking about the same thing here?" Beca questioned, her brow knitting together in confusion.
"No, I don't think we are." Chloe was as puzzled as Beca. "What are you thinking about?"
"You going down on me-"
"Beca!" Chloe hissed, quickly covering Emily's ears. "Not in front of the child!"
"Dude, she's seen my dick and your vagina. I don't think she's inept to the concept of sex."
"Please don't remind me." Emily winced. Chloe took her hands away. "That was horrible."
"Snooping never gets you anywhere in life, kiddo."
"For the last time, it was Amy's fault!" Emily defended. "And seriously, I'm not a little kid. I'm eighteen, for crying out loud. Why do you guys treat me like a five year-old?"
"We're your aca-parents." Chloe smiled, rubbing up and down Emily's arm. "It's our job to baby you."
Beca sniggered. "Yeah, you're our guiena pig for when we have our own kids-"
"Beca! Why are you being so obnoxious today?"
"Why are you being so whiny today?"
"My period, Beca!"
"Oh god..." Emily sighed.
"And now you're upsetting the child!"
Emily rolled her eyes. "Not a child."
"You're eighteen, I'm twenty-four. You're a child. No arguments."
"Six years really isn't an age gap-"
"No arguments, young lady." Chloe shot Emily down in a hard-hitting tone.
Beca patted Emily's head out of a mock sympathy. "Don't upset your mama, Legacy." She refixed her headphones atop of her ears and left the room, singing along to the chorus of the song that was automatically set to play. "Cause' we could be immortals, immortals, just not for long, for long.."
"I-I'm sorry, Chloe." Emily stuttered. "I know that you're mad and-"
"I'm not mad, sweetie." Chloe reassured with a soft smile. "I just like being a motherly figure in your life. And as much as Beca won't admit it, so does she. It's our responsibility to ease you into college properly. I had Aubrey - she's always been so serious and really grounded me in freshman year - and Beca had me before we fell for each other. So when I say you're a child, I mean you haven't had the experience we've had."
"Like...finding your first love?"
"Not just that, but yeah."
(Maybe?) I know you have less of an age gap with Beca than with me, but she's experienced a lot. Whether that's her parents' divorce, all the shit she's been through in high school for having a penis or all our crazy fights that could've led to a break up. Even though she hardly acts it, she's so mature for her age. All those things have really helped her grow as a person."
"Guys, the ICCAs start in January. And we've got Worlds coming up in June." Cynthia-Rose looked to all the girls. "Isn't anyone a little concerned why we haven't started rehearsing properly?"
"Bullshit." Stacie narrowed her eyes. "The only reason why we haven't been practicing is because Beca and Chloe can't stop fucking each other until the cows come home. Then they're too tired to do anything else."
"There's so much of their bullshit round here it's stinking the whole place out." Amy said.
"Exactly."
"Kicking them out to the basement was both the worst and best thing we could've done." Cynthia-Rose shrugged.
"How?" Emily asked with an air of innocence.
"Oh Legacy, you're still a foetus at heart, aren't you?" Amy mocked.
"Uhm...thanks?"
"Let's weigh up the pros and cons of this." Stacie said. "So the pros: we don't have to hear all those gasps, and moans, and 'oh, Daddy, right there', and 'fuck, you're so tight, babygirl' every other night." The others murmured in agreement.
"But the cons," Stacie continued, "Is that we don't know how much sex they're having. Because the basement is far more secluded than anywhere else in the house, they're probably taking advantage of that. Now don't get me wrong, sex is fucking beautiful, but not when it's affecting the chances of upholding our winning streak."
"Beca's always pretty chill about our competitions, but I thought Chloe would've been right on our case by now." Cynthia-Rose said.
"Obviously she's not."
"Maybe they're...discussing ideas for the Bellas in private?" Emily suggested. "Chloe did say Beca's working on the set list right now."
"Yeah, I don't think so. Emily, I know that you look up to them and everything, but they're only thinking about themselves here."
"But they wouldn't just forget about us like this. Especially Chloe, she's failed Russian Lit three times just to-"
"Only because she's got the dough to fall back on." Amy pointed out. "Her family's loaded. Any one of us poor folk would've been paying off our loans for life if we did the same."
"And it's more likely she keeps failing just to stay with Beca then to stay in the Bellas." Stacie added. "What are the odds she'll decide to graduate this year alongside her girlfriend? Slim chance, don't you think Legacy?"
"C'mon, guys." Emily tried to reason with the group. "Beca and Chloe are our friends. No, they're more than just friends. They're our sisters. They wouldn't put their relationship before us."
"Well newsflash, they are."
"When you said they were 'more than just friends'..." Amy drawled out. "I thought you meant we were all in a harem with them. Not that I wouldn't mind, Beca's got a pretty huge ding-dong down there."
"You're actually worse than me, Amy." Stacie deadpanned.
"I say we talk to them about this." Jessica said.
"No one cares about your opinion, Ashley." Amy interjected.
Jessica and Ashley rolled their eyes, forever exasperated by Amy's constant mishap. Whether it was intentional or not, nobody really knew. Amy would always be Amy.
"I could kill one of them in the night." Lily whispered.
Everyone exchanged a confused glance. Emily was certain she had never heard Lily speak any louder.
"I made you a hot cocoa with almond milk. It's that Aztec thing you like. My little apology for being obnoxious."
"Thank you, baby." Chloe gratefully took the mug and sipped the bitter drink. Warmth exploded in her mouth from the chili, and the cinnamon gave it a delectable spice. The drink itself wasn't steaming hot, but Beca knew that was how Chloe loved it. "Mmm, you're getting good at making these."
"I'm glad you appreciate my skills."
"Oh, I appreciate all your skills." Chloe said with a wink and took another sip. "Wait..." She squinted her eyes and scanned the surface. "Did you put the marshmallows in?"
"Fuck, I was hoping you wouldn't notice." Beca mumbled. "We're all out of marshmallows, vegan and non-vegan."
Chloe gave one of her smirks that almost always translated to 'I want something and because you're so whipped, I know you'll get it for me.' "Becs?"
"Yeah, Chlo?" Beca sighed; what was coming next was so utterly predictable that she no longer felt the need to argue otherwise.
"Can you go to the store and buy me some vegan marshmallows please?"
"Yes, dear." Beca responded with monotony. She grabbed her wallet and car keys from the desk. "But promise me you won't throw a strop if I can't get the vegan ones."
"I'm not eating gelatine, Beca." Chloe frowned. "Either you get vegan marshmallows or I'm withholding."
"When we first started dating, I would've never guessed you'd be this demanding." Beca mumbled, only half-joking about the matter.
She was tempted to criticise Chloe's guilty pleasure in eating an excess of candy, a complete contradiction to her normal attitudes towards anything that had an animal involved in its production. Such as when she'd eat Haribos, which were full of gelatine. But Beca knew that was very likely turn into a heated debate, and even had the potential to escalate into a very unnecessary fight. Especially when Chloe was on her period.
"The life of a vegan is a demanding one, but it's so worth it. Living in a cruelty-free way is totes refreshing. No meat products, no eggs, no leather-"
"Uh, babe? You own like a gazillion pairs of suede boots."
"Suede isn't leather."
"I think you'll find it is."
"I think you'll find it isn't."
"Okay, smartass." Beca mocked. "Google it."
Chloe placed her mug down on the bedside table and picked up her phone, typing in to her search engine is suede leather? Moments later, a short explanatory paragraph came up. Chloe read part of it aloud. "'Suede leather is made from the underside of the skin, primarily from lamb-'oh my god!" She gasped and threw her phone down on the mattress. "This is a travesty! I can't wear this!"
"Told you."
"Okay, I've got another favour. While you're out, can you donate all my suede boots to the charity shop?"
"Chloe, are you nuts? You spent a fucking fortune on those things. I can't just-"
"Innocent lambs have been killed for my consumption! I am an awful human being!" Chloe fanned herself in an exaggerated fashion.
"'Awful?' Babe, you're the most perfect human being I've ever laid my eyes on." Beca lent down to peck Chloe's cheek.
Chloe narrowed her eyes as Beca started nuzzling her cheek. "Funny, earlier you said I was 'whiny-'"
In an instant Beca was pulling back and slid her leather jacket on. "Vegan marshmallows was it?"
"Chloe, it's obvious you and Beca care more about your relationship than the Bellas."
"That is so not true!" Chloe exclaimed. "Why would you even think that?!"
"All you two do is shag."
"All you do is shag, but I don't go around threatening to kick you out of the Bellas, do I?!"
"Because you're not even focused on the Bellas! It's our last year at college! We want to make the most of competing together while we can! Well, who knows if it'll be your last year, but the rest of us are graduating!"
Chloe gasped. "Excuse me?!"
"You heard me!"
"For your information, I am graduating this year!"
"And why's that? Hmm, let me think. Is it because Beca just so happens to be graduating this year as well? Oh, the irony!"
"No! I'm not getting any younger and I've got a long road ahead of me with vet school."
"I swear, I spoil you too much, Beale-whoa, what happened? Babe, what's wrong?" Beca rushed over to Chloe's side.
Chloe was sniffling as she patted her eyes dry and cuddled her pillow for additional support.
"N-Nothing, it was just the movie I was watching."
"I know you're an emotional sponge at the best of times, but even you don't cry at movies."
"You've only watched four movies with me in the time we've been together. How would you know if I cry at them?"
"Because I know you. Now, who made you upset?"
"...you'll get mad."
"Tell me, Chloe."
"Promise me you won't go crazy?"
"You know I can't do that.
"What the actual fuck, you guys?" Beca spat. "You've really upset Chloe."
Amy slumped her shoulders. "We were just...sick and tired of you guys feeding us a load of horseshit-"
"Horseshit?! What the hell?!"
"Look, Beca," Stacie sighed. Beca straight at her with a burning hatred. "We all feel like you and Chloe have neglected us as an acapella group in favour of your sex life."
"Oh my god, we're fucking dating! Yes, we have a lot of sex - we've all established that - but we need to dedicate ourselves to each over emotionally! That takes time and effort! A shit ton of effort! And anyway, how the fuck are we neglecting the Bellas if I've been busting my ass off on the set list and Chloe's started mapping out the choreography?!"
"Well neither of you told us-"
"Do you know how much stress Chloe is under?! She has more important things to worry about than some stupid-"
"Chloe this, Chloe that! Everything's about Chloe! You worship the fucking ground Chloe walks on!" Stacie yelled. "Everyone's stressed out, Beca! The world doesn't revolve around your girlfriend!"
"To me it does!" Beca's voice cracked. "Chloe's my world. She's everything to me. When I see her bawling her eyes out, I feel just as shitty as she does. And to find out that you were one responsible for putting her in such a state, that's even worse. I thought we were bros, Stacie. How could you do this to her? To me?"
"I-I...I don't know-"
"Wow, Stacie Conrad doesn't know something, huh?" Beca scoffed, her eyes glazing over with unshed tears. "That's a first."
"You like Beca, don't you?" Emily sighed.
"What...makes you say that?"
"I don't know, it's dumb."
"Tell me."
"I guess you seemed kinda...jealous? You know, when you said Beca 'worships the ground Chloe walks on.'"
"I wasn't jealous."
"So you do like her?"
"...a bit."
"But..she's happy with Chloe."
"Why do you think I've never tried to break them up? I'm always the voice of reason whenever they argue, so I've had countless opportunities to try and break them up if I wanted to, but...what good would that do? I'd never forgive myself if I did. They're amazing for each other and it's inevitable that they'll get married and have lots of little Becas and Chloes running around. I couldn't ruin that.
I'm not in love with Beca, I know I'm not. I just...like her. I know it's childish, but I guess you could say I have a small crush on her. Maybe it's because she's got a dick, I'm not sure. But I know that if something ever happened between us, our relationship would be strictly intimate.
It'd be more like a 'friends with benefits' thing, which she definitely wouldn't like. She'd feel used and dirty. And I know she'd break it off within a matter of weeks, blaming me for feeling so empty without Chloe. I doubt we'd even return to our 'bro status.' Not only would I have ruined their relationship, but I would've destroyed our friendship beyond repair."
"Wow, I...had no idea."
"Of course you didn't, nobody knew."
"Beca, Chloe, I'm really sorry. I don't know what came over me yesterday."
"Neither do we." Beca frowned. "You were acting insane, Stacie. I know we've been slow organising rehearsals and stuff, but you jumped on the bandwagon and started making accusations left, right and centre."
"We're partly to blame, of course." Chloe continued. "
"I know you like Beca. Emily told me-"
"Ugh, that fucking blabbermouth! I am so, so, so sorry, you must hate me and-"
"Wait, you didn't let me finish." Chloe smiled weakly. "I'm not mad you, Stace. Emily told me everything you said. I mean yeah, I'll get jealous if someone's flirting with Beca, as you know," Stacie chuckled and nodded at this, "But you never once showed anything that would suggest you liked her. Not every friend would do what you've done."
"I only like her a bit, so it was pretty easy to hide. But rest assured, I'm not in love with her at all. It's just one of those teenage crushes on the 'alt girl' of the school. I swear, Aubrey is so quotable."
"Yeah, she's hilarious."
The two women fell into an uneasy silence. Chloe was still somewhat overwhelmed by Stacie's revelation. If truth be told, she wasn't entirely fine with it. Why should she have any right to be? Though Stacie claimed her attraction was virtually non-existent, Chloe couldn't be too hasty. She had already been lead to believe Stacie's feelings for Beca were purely platonic.
The more Chloe thought about it, the more she considered the possibility of Stacie lying her way out of a confrontation, making her true intentions unclear. Given her intelligence, she was definitely capable of manipulating anybody around her. But then again, manipulative and Stacie didn't seem to add up correctly.
Chloe wasn't completely sure what the future of their friendship would entail either. Around Stacie, Chloe knew she would be quite apprehensive, particularly if Beca was also present. And Beca certainly couldn't find out about this. But because of the likely deterioration in Chloe and Stacie's friendship, she would grow increasingly suspicious of the strange, sudden tension between the two. Or she wouldn't, depending on how oblivious she felt like acting that day.
Stacie ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. "It's obvious you're not okay with this, Chloe. Don't cheat your way out and tell me otherwise."
"Well I was told you've got a crush on my girlfriend. Do you expect me to congratulate you?"
"I know that's a rhetorical question, but I'll answer it anyway. No, I don't. In fact, I expected you to call me a 'skank', slap me across the face and kick me out of the Bellas." Chloe rose an eyebrow at Stacie's selection of theoretical events. "Providing that Emily opened her big mouth. Which she did."
"You can't help who you like." Chloe sighed. "I used to have a small crush on Aubrey way back when."
"Wait, why?"
"She's pretty-"
"Pretty annoying?"
"
"I've been trying to do everything I can to shake this off since I worked it out."
"And when did you work it out?"
"Around six months ago."
"So you haven't liked her for that long?"
"No."
"I don't want her to know, okay? About any of this. It'll make things really awkward."
"Yeah, of course." Stacie nodded. "She doesn't have to know."
A/N: Do not fret, there will be no affairs between friends in this story.