The next two months flew by. Chloe had informed everyone of her health condition, Beca's mixes were being played on the radio, Aubrey's secret relationship was going well, as was Beca's and Chloe's, and the Bellas were finally meshing.

Aubrey and Beca's relationship had seemed to improve outside of rehearsals. But during rehearsals was a totally different subject. Aubrey was still not listening to Beca's ideas and was completely ignoring her opinions. Chloe had tried to get Aubrey to listen on multiple occasions, but she refused, claiming the set-list would get them to nationals and that's all that mattered. Even when Chloe realized she couldn't hit the high note in "Turn The Beat Around" any longer without being in extreme pain and had offered Beca to take her spot, Aubrey refused to let her solo; Beca wanted to change the song. Aubrey was being too strict with what songs and dances they did. Chloe knew their current set-list would get them to nationals, but not win them nationals. She decided to argue with Aubrey about that at a later time.

It was Christmas Eve. The snow laid thick on the roofs of the apartments lining the streets of New York City. Beca was staying with her mom for the break. Chloe had went west to stay with her family. The couple had started dating a few days after they first kissed, but they agreed to keep their relationship a secret for the time being. Aubrey was the only Bella who knew the truth. The couple tried their best to keep their hands to themselves during Bellas rehearsals, only allowing a lingering touch here or a brush of the hand there. Somehow it worked, but Chloe was getting a little antsy about spilling their secret. She didn't like to lie, but she didn't want to break her promise to her girlfriend. Beca, on the other hand, felt completely comfortable lying.

"Beca? You're zoning out again."

"Huh? Oh, sorry. I just missed your face."

"You're looking at it right now," Chloe giggled.

"And I've never been more thankful for technology," Beca smiled into the computer screen. Their Skype call had started two hours ago, and they had spent half the time just entranced by the other's face.

"I miss you," Chloe pouted.

"I miss you too."

"No, I really miss you."

"Oh," Beca gulped as she watched Chloe start to rub herself. She couldn't see anything, but she could hear her moans. After a minute, Chloe stood up, turned her back to the camera, and began to strip.

"Hey, Becs, when do you want to-" Beca's mother said, walking into her daughter's bedroom. She stopped talking as she saw the half naked woman on the screen. Beca slammed down the laptop and whirled around to face her mother. "What was that?"

"Just some video."

"Just some video? It's okay to watch stuff like that." Her mother took a seat on Beca's bed and started a long speech about something to do with porn. Beca wasn't listening; her earbuds were still in, and Chloe hadn't stopped her actions. The brunette could hear her girlfriend's moans. She even heard her name a few times. After some time, Beca's mother was still going on about whatever she was saying, and Chloe was reaching her climax. She screamed out Beca's name then went silent.

"Beca? Are you there?" the redhead whispered into her laptop, putting on her headphones.

"Mom," Beca interrupted the long speech, "could you please get out of my room so I can spend the first five fucking minutes of Christmas with my girlfriend? I'll make cookies with you after, okay?" Her mother just looked at her with a shocked expression before making her exit. "I'm here," Beca replied, opening her laptop to find Chloe's shining face once again.

"I thought you didn't want to tell your mom about us?"

"I didn't, but I was frustrated that she had walked in at that particular moment and wouldn't leave."

"So you heard everything?"

"Definitely." Chloe smiled.

"It's okay that your mom knows, because I may have possibly told my parents too..." Her smile didn't fade. "They want to meet you over Spring Break, if that's okay."

"Yeah, that's fine. Beats staying in my dorm all break long." Beca took a peek at the time in the bottom right corner of the screen. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas! I still have three hours until it's Christmas here. Do you have my present?"

"Right here," Beca held a box wrapped in blue paper with a big gold bow up to the camera. "And you have mine?" Chloe reacted by copying Beca. The wrapping paper on her box was pink with a white ribbon.

"I want to wait until it's Christmas for both of us."

"I want it now."

"Patience, my dear. Patience," Chloe laughed. "You know, Beca, it doesn't feel right to keep us a secret from the Bellas. They're like family to me, and it just feels wrong to not have them know. Plus, I'd like to be able to touch my girlfriend whenever I want."

Beca nodded in agreement, "Yes, I would like to have you touch me whenever." She laughed at her own joke. "I agree with you. It does feel odd to keep this a secret from them. We'll tell them on the way home after we win Regionals. How does that sound?"

"Very good. Sorry to disappoint you, but you should probably go make cookies with your mom now. I'll be here when you get back, just send me a call."

"Alright," Beca scowled.

"Oh, shush. The sooner you get up, the sooner we'll be back here." Beca rolled her eyes and ended the Skype call. She got up and dreadfully staggered to the kitchen to find her mom already scooping out dough from a bowl.

"You started without me?"

"I figured you'd be too busy."

"Too busy? This is tradition. Even I keep traditions," Beca said, taking her place at her mother's side. The older woman smiled down at her. "Chloe told me to come out here anyways," her eyes grew wide as she realized she just told her mom her girlfriend's name.

"Chloe, huh? That's a nice name."

"It is."

"Does your father know about you two?"

"No. I try to keep my distance from him."

Beca's mother gave her daughter a disapproving look. She didn't like that Beca wouldn't try to rekindle her relationship with her father. They used to have so much fun together. She cleared her throat before continuing on about Chloe. "Tell me about her. What's she like?"

"She's tall, a redhead, smart, funny, really sweet, and a senior. She's the co-captain of the a capella group I'm in at school," Beca bit her bottom lip; she hadn't told her mom about the Bellas yet.

"A capella? I didn't know you were into singing like that."

Beca thought for a minute before replying, "I'm not, but I really like it, actually. There's this competition called a Riff-Off where all the a capella groups battle. It's really fun."

"I imagine so. Okay, back to Chloe. Have you two...fondued?"

"Mom!"

"What? I'm just curious. Can't I ask my daughter a serious question for once?"

"Never."

"Well, does she at least treat you well?"

Beca grinned, "Yeah, she does."

"And you treat her well?"

"Yeah, Mom, I'm not like Dad. Don't worry."

"Honey, that's not what I meant. Your father, he- he wasn't happy. I think he was unhappy for a long time before we started fighting. I know you think he walked out on us, but it was better for him to leave than stay. Just imagine your life now, and how different it would be if you didn't go to Barden. I know you didn't want to go, but it was the best option you had. I couldn't afford to send you off to LA alone, much less college. I was so worried I wouldn't be able to take care of you. When your father got the job offer at Barden University, I considered it a blessing. He was gone, and had a good job, and you'd have someplace to go after high school. College wasn't your first choice, but aren't you glad you're going there now?"

Beca thought about it: what if she never had gone to Barden? She wouldn't know Aubrey, or Stacie, or Cynthia Rose, or Jessica, or Benji, who turned out to be a really nice guy, or Chloe. Chloe. She was the most important out of them all. Just under two months of being together out of a mere four/five months of knowing each other, Beca couldn't imagine life without her girlfriend, her best friend. She was the one Beca could let her walls down around. The one who she cuddled with at night. The one she woke up to. The one she sang the loudest with. The one she got butterflies around. The one she could talk to for hours upon hours about nothing at all. The one she loves. Yeah, Beca was in love. She had been for a long time now, but it took just one sentence said by her mother to finally discover it. One simple sentence.

Beca got on her tip-toes and kissed her mother on the cheek. "Thank you." She left the kitchen in a hurry and planted herself in front of her warm laptop once again. She sent a call request to Chloe, who was still online. Moments later, the redhead's face popped up on the screen. "Open your present."

"It's not Christmas yet, Beca."

"Please? I want you to open it."

"It's only fair if you open yours first." Beca smiled as she grabbed the box and started to tear the paper off. "It's nothing much, but I think you'll like it." And like it she did. Beca found two picture frames inside the box; one with a photo of the Bellas all together and one with her favorite picture of Chloe. "I know you really love that picture of me, no matter how terrible I look in it, so I framed it for you."

"You can't ever look terrible." Beca remembered when she took the photograph really early one morning. Chloe had stayed over, and was refusing to get up. Her make-up was completely off, showing off her natural beauty, and her hair was a mess. Beca had a new camera and was determined to use it. She climbed onto the bed and straddled herself over Chloe, who turned to look up at her. She laughed when she realized what Beca was doing, and Beca snapped just one picture. That was all she needed. With sleepy eyes and simple smile showing her teeth, Beca had captured what she loved most about the girl: everything.

"You're going to make me blush. So do you like it?"

"I love it! Now, open yours!" Chloe unwrapped her box easily and opened it.

She gasped, "Beca. These are your favorite; I can't accept them." She slowly reached into the box and pulled out a pair of black headphones. To most people, they just look like headphones, but Chloe knew better. These were the headphones Beca used 24/7. If they weren't in their case, they were on Beca's ears or around her neck.

"I want you to have them."

"I can't. They're like a piece of you."

"Exactly," Beca smiled. "I'm giving myself to you through those headphones. They mean so much to me. I mean, I made my first mix using those babies. I want you to use them. Just don't listen to Justin Beiber with them. Please don't put them through that torture," she laughed. She wanted to say the real reason she wanted Chloe to have her prized possession was because she was in love with her, but she bit her tongue. Letting two secrets slip was enough for one day. Chloe carefully put the headphones around her neck. "They look perfect on you."

"Thank you so much, Beca. I really just want to hug you right now. I feel so bad; my gift looks so stupid compared to yours!"

"No no! I love your gift! Now I can show you off to my many other girlfriends when they come over."

"And don't forget to show them the lovely group of ladies in the other frame."

"Oh, yes, I won't forget."

The pair talked for another hour or so until Beca became a little tired. She was in need of entertaining.

"Could you remind me one more time of how much you miss me?"