surprise bitch

"Chloe Beale, you son of a bitch!"

As Beca and Chloe entered the dorm, Aubrey came running out of her bedroom and nearly tackled the redhead. "How dare you have surgery without me there! If I wasn't so happy to see you, I'd kick your ass." Laughter filled the air as Chloe and Aubrey held each other. Beca probably would have seen tears too if she hadn't looked away early on to give the pair some privacy.

"I'm so sorry that I didn't tell you. I just didn't want you to be scared."

"Like it's not scary to be told after the fact. What if something had happened to you?"

Shaking her head, Chloe's hair fell into her face, but Aubrey pushed it back. "I know, and I'm sorry. I love you, okay?"

With a defeated sigh, Aubrey returned the sentiment, "I love you too." After a moment of looking into Chloe's eyes, the blonde turned her attention to Beca, who was now awkwardly watching the pair. "Thank you for taking care of her."

Beca rolled back on her heel and nodded with a tight-lipped smile. "Yeah. It's good she got her nodes out after the season ended, huh?" Part of her wanted to dance on the line between being mean to Aubrey for excluding her, but the thought of her innocence literally being beaten out of her made Beca feel guilty for her thoughts. Sure she was a bitch, but it wasn't entirely her fault. Now she knew something Aubrey didn't want her to know, and if Beca would ever change her mind on her behavior towards Aubrey, she'd have that to dangle over her head.

At practice, everyone was asking about Beca. Chloe was bombarded with questions about where she was, what had happened, and if she was coming back. With a heavy heart, she pushed away the inquires about her girlfriend and told them about her surgery. With the season really not being over, she wouldn't be able to sing in any upcoming competitions, including Nationals. This was also news to Aubrey, who flipped out, pulling the redhead aside immediately. "What the hell?"

"Yeah, Aubrey, that's how surgery works," she retorted, feeling guilty immediately for her tone but refusing to apologize. "I can't sing, which means we're down a girl. We need Beca, and if you refuse to bring her back, I don't think anyone here will forgive you. Without her, we can't compete."

Aubrey stared at Chloe's face for a long moment before throwing her hands up in the air. "Dammit, fine. She's back in." Chloe squealed and clapped, abruptly wrapping Aubrey up in a hug. "...And," a sigh escaped the blonde, "I suppose, since you're gone now, that we'll have to rework our material. And since Beca is...decent at putting songs together, she can help me create a new set list."

Chloe pulled away from her friend with a grin that threatened to break her face. "I love you so fucking much right now."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Go get her."

With her spare key, Chloe unlocked Beca's door and burst in with an energy she hadn't had since before her surgery. "What's with you?" Beca asked, barely moving from her oh-so-comfortable blanket cocoon. In an instant, Chloe was lying beside her, putting her lips all over Beca's face. The smaller girl wiggled under all the blankets. "What?" she asked again, her serious demeanor breaking under her lover's affections.

"You're back in!"

"I'm what?" she replied, her eyes slightly wide.

"Babe, you're a Bella again!"

"I'm a Bella!" Beca exclaimed, quickly wiggling her arms out from under the blankets to hug her girlfriend.

After the initial excitement was over, Beca asked, "What made Aubrey change her mind?"

"Me," Chloe answered, her grin wavering ever so slightly. "You know that the doctor said I can't sing for a while, right? Well, I might have lied about just how long that'll be. I won't be able to help you harmonize in practice like I said...and I won't be able to participate at Nationals."

Beca's jaw went a bit slack as she absorbed the information. "Okay...well, that's a lot to take in, thanks, but we'll come back to this. The Bellas can survive without me and you, so why was I accepted back in?"

"Aubrey doesn't know that. I'm sure they could manage, but I do have a solo, and switching people around would just confuse them. I was able to convince her to listen to some of your mixes, and now she's interested in having you help set up a set list. So, not only are you a Bella, you are a composer now. Like, with people to actually boss around."

Instead of reacting with joy or even with words, Beca simply grinned at Chloe. A few long moments passed before anything was said, and it was Beca who spoke. "I love you so much right now." Her warm hands softly gripped both sides of Chloe's face, and she moved in to plant a passionate but reserved kiss on her lips. Chloe took it a step further slowly ran her hand along the other girl's neck, burying her fingers in her hair and pulling lightly on it, forcing a slight sound to resonate out of her girlfriend. Beca pulled away just enough to look at the beauty in front of her. "Do we have time?"

"Not really, no," Chloe chuckled, a slightly blush spreading across her cheeks. Biting her bottom lip slowly to torment Beca, she continued, "But we have time to make out a little."

Simultaneously moving one hand down to Chloe's waist, Beca moved the other towards the back of Chloe's neck. With a soft smirk, she moved her lips to ghost over her girlfriend's. "Well, we better not waste it then."