A/N: Kinda hate this chapter. It's unbetaed since I had to rewrite this one from scratch twice before I finally worked out what I was going to do with it, and I'm an impatient person :P

Chloe Beale

Managed to get Beca Mitchell on Facebook! Achievement of the day! Everyone go bug her!

9 people like this.

Beca Mitchell Dislike. Why is there still not a button for that?

Chloe Beale Because grumpy people like you would abuse it!

Beca Mitchell

Fuck my life.

Chloe Beale What's up?

Beca Mitchell Nothing, just forgot to save something I was working on and my computer died, so I lost some of it. Ugh.

Beca Mitchell Also, forgot how satisfying it is to make a vague Facebook status complaining about something.

Chloe Beale Oh no! That really sucks. What was it, homework or something?

Beca Mitchell Homework?! Ha. It's like you don't know me at all. No, it was a mix I've been working on for a few weeks.

Chloe Beale Aw, I'm sorry! Do you think you can get it back? Can I hear it when it's done?

Jesse Swanson NO WAY DOES CHLOE GET TO HEAR THEM BEFORE I DO

Beca Mitchell I was gonna say no, but now I think you should definitely hear it.

Chloe Beale

"Bulletproof, nothing to lose, fire away, fire away…" Love this song. Good memories Beca Mitchell

3 people like this.

Beca Mitchell …

Chloe Beale ;)

Aubrey Posen Aca-ugh.

Beca Mitchell - Aubrey Posen

You seriously type that 'aca-whatever' shit as well as say it?

Aubrey Posen Don't make me aca-punch you.

Chloe Beale Girls, girls! Violence is never wise. (not the way to win back guys)

Beca Mitchell … What?

Aubrey Posen Dear God, she's singing songs from Legally Blonde: the musical.

Chloe Beale - Beca Mitchell

Are you free today? x

Beca Mitchell I've got class, but yeah, I guess so. Why?

Chloe Beale You'll see! ^_~

Beca Mitchell I don't think I like the sound of that. I hate surprises.

Chloe Beale Why does that not surprise me?

Beca Mitchell Because I hate surprises so much nothing about me is a surprise.

Chloe Beale likes this.

Tom. Just Tom - Chloe Beale

you busy today? ;)

Chloe Beale Yeah, sorry Tommy! Hanging out with Beca Mitchell!

Beca Mitchell Please stop tagging me in every post

Tom. Just Tom is that the girl from the showers? almost didn't recognise her with clothes on

Beca Mitchell OMG STOP TALKING

Chloe Beale

Great day having a 'surprise' mini picnic with the lovely Beca Mitchell in her dorm room! Think she liked it even if she had a choking fit on a sandwich at one point

Beca Mitchell Do you have to update about everything we do together on Facebook? Also, when did you take that photo?

Chloe Beale Yes! I took it the other day when you weren't looking. You looked so pretty! :) x

Beca Mitchell Untagging.

Chloe Beale Go ahead, I still have it saved on my phone! So there. :)

Chloe Beale

Sigh.

Beca Mitchell ?

Chloe Beale I texted you. :(

Fat Amy 'Adele' Watson

i hope Chloe Beale and Beca Mitchell never discover private messaging

15 people like this.

Beca Mitchell I hate you all.

'… And I ended up on the phone to her for about half an hour because she'd apparently broken it off with that guy she was… doing stuff… with on the side and she was down about it.'

Jesse makes a thoughtful noise, still listening to Beca despite the fact he's currently messing around with his laptop and trying to get it to play a DVD. They were halfway through E.T. when his laptop started making noises and crashed, and now whenever he puts it in the drive it simply starts whirring without actually doing anything. Jesse pretty much had a panic attack when this happened the first time. Meanwhile, Beca's lying on her bed while he works, trying to balance a pencil on her nose out of boredom. She's not sure how the topic got onto Chloe, but then again, it always seems to these days.

'She was down about breaking off a casual sex thing?' asks Jesse, frowning to himself. This could be at the information about Chloe or the fact that even restarting his laptop isn't working. 'Seems a bit weird. It being casual, and all that.'

'Well you know Chloe. She hates upsetting people. She didn't explain it that much but I think the guy was a bit more attached to her than she originally thought.' Beca shrugs, or rather just twitches her shoulders since she's lying down. 'Can't blame him I guess.'

'Why'd she break it off, anyway?'

Beca lets the pencil fall off her face. 'I dunno. I asked, but she didn't really say.'

'What did she say?'

'Just that things had changed for her so her thing with Tom wasn't enough for her anymore.'

'Hm.'

Beca rolls onto her side, facing Jesse. 'What hm? What are you thinking?'

'Well, I'm just wondering what changed for her. Maybe she likes someone else,' Jesse says. His tone is far too casual to be realistic; Beca narrows her eyes at his back. He's never been good at acting, and this time is no exception.

'I know what you're suggesting, and don't even go there.'

Jesse turns to look at her, one eyebrow raised. 'Why not? Whenever I try and "go there" you shut me down and avoid the topic.'

Beca stares at him. 'Seriously, why is this such a big deal to you? You've been on my back about Chloe for ages. Why?'

''Cause it's just like a movie!' Jesse whines petulantly. 'The closed off girl with all her walls and the guy – I mean, girl - who can surpass them all and see her inner beauty and all that. It's the plot of pretty much half the great love stories out there.'

'Difference is, my life isn't a love story.'

'But -'

'Jesse, no,' Beca says sternly. 'This is my life, okay? It's not a movie, or something for you to write fanfic about when you're alone in your dorm room. Whatever I do with Chloe has nothing to do with you, so please stop bringing it up?'

Jesse huffs, but he does look a little bit sorry. 'Fine. In the meantime, my laptop is bust. Can I borrow yours?'

'No way. My laptop has never been desecrated by a terrible movie in the disc drive and it's going to stay like that.'

'Excuse me? E.T. is not a terrible movie. You should feel lucky I picked that one – I thought a film about friendship might teach you a few things.'

'Not making me want to give you my laptop, Jess.' Beca stands up, crossing to her wardrobe to collect her shower bag and some clothes. 'I'm gonna take a shower. Don't mess up my room.'

'Would I ever?' Jesse waves her off, jabbing morosely at buttons on his laptop.

When Beca returns twenty minutes later, Jesse is now sitting on the floor and looking worryingly pleased with himself. Sensing he's done something Beca won't like, she narrows her eyes at him suspiciously. 'What did you do?'

'Oh, nothing,' he says, grinning widely.

She scans the room, trying to see if there's anything out of place. All her DJing equipment and keyboard is still where it was before - even her laptop is in the same position. Suddenly, Beca notices her phone is on the floor next to him and inwardly facepalms. How could she be so stupid as to leave it in the room with him? She quickly snatches it up and looks at the recent calls, trying to work out what he did to make him smirk like that, but there are none that are new in the history.

'What did you do?' Beca says, frowning.

Jesse just taps his nose, giving her a wink. She's about to interrogate him further when someone knocks on the door.

'Bet I know who that is,' Jesse singsongs, sniggering to himself.

Beca puts two and two together. 'You didn't,' she says, horrified.

'Maybe I did, maybe I didn't.'

Feeling a sense of dread, she brings up the texts. Her suspicions are confirmed when there's a new text to Chloe sent very recently, which she most definitely did not write and never would.

Come over? I miss you.

'Jesse!' she screeches. 'You said you'd butt out!'

'I said I'd stop talking about it!' he points out. 'Never said anything about some good, old fashioned match making.'

'I'm gonna kill you!'

There's another knock, a little more insistent this time.

'You gonna get that?' Jesse asks, eyes twinkling.

Beca pauses, wondering whether to go after Jesse or greet Chloe. Then again, if Chloe's on the other side of the door she might question the noises she'll hear when she brutally murders Jesse. 'Don't say a word, or I swear…' Beca warns him. Jesse obediently pretends to zip his lips.

Beca knows it must be Chloe, but she's still a little surprised to open the door and find her there on the other side on the whim of a random text "Beca" sent. If she'd thought Chloe was everywhere in her life previously, it was nothing compared to now – she was seeing Chloe practically every day, texting her constantly. They hadn't made any plans for today, yet here she was.

'Chloe! What a surprise.' Behind her back, she gives Jesse the middle finger when she hears him snort.

'Hey you,' says Chloe, smiling brightly. 'I was surprised to get your text, especially since you're up before 11 on a weekend. Colour me shocked.'

'I didn't really have much of a choice.' Beca points back into the room, where Jesse's predictably stolen her Mac and is now trying to boot it up. She's not worried – she has a password on. Unlike on her phone. She really needs to change that.

Chloe peers over Beca's shoulder. When she sees Jesse, she looks disappointed. 'Oh, I didn't realise you'd have company...'

'Neither did I, to be honest. Jesse just kind of turned up.' She looks back at him, giving him a death glare. 'We were watching a movie, then he stole my phone and texted you. Sorry about that. I didn't have anything to do with it.'

'I thought it was a bit unusual,' says Chloe. 'Then again, so is you watching a movie. Don't you hate movies?'

'See? She knows that,' Beca calls back to Jesse. He just grunts in annoyance – she expects he's found the password screen now. 'Doesn't stop him from forcing me to watch them with him.'

'Consider it a vital part of your college education,' Jesse says, now trying random words for her password. 'Forget Philosophy! This is where the real learning is at.'

Chloe smiles wistfully. 'Sounds intense... I wouldn't want to interrupt. I'll see you another time maybe?' she asks Beca.

Disappointed, but relieved she won't have to deal with the inevitable embarrassment Jesse would unleash on her if left to his own devices with Chloe, Beca nods slowly. 'Yeah, I guess. Sorry you came all the way out here for nothing. Later, Chlo.'

Just as Beca is about to shut the door, Jesse shouts, 'No wait - Chloe, why don't you join us?'

Beca's head snaps around in shock. 'Dude!' she mouths. 'Stop it!'

'Oh get over it,' he hisses back. He looks back up at Chloe, a wide smile on his face. 'How about it? Maybe you can convince her to let me use her Mac since my laptop isn't working.'

'I dunno,' says Chloe, shooting an unsure glance at Beca. 'I don't want to intrude.'

'Who's intruding?' He spreads his hands out to the side in what he evidently thinks is a welcoming manner. 'Mi laptop es su laptop. Or rather, Beca's.'

'Beca?' Chloe questions.

Beca looks at Jesse, who is sending her rapid eyebrow signals. 'I don't mind if you stay.' When the signals don't stop, she sighs heavily and throws up her hands. 'In fact I'd love nothing more! You suck,' she adds, directed at Jesse.

Chloe laughs. 'Well, okay. You've convinced me.' Chloe takes a step towards the bed, but then stops. 'Is there enough room for all of us to sit?'

'Oh yeah, sure!' Jesse beams at her. 'We might have to huddle up a bit… but worst comes to worst, Beca can sit on your lap. Ow!' he cries, when Beca walks over and kicks him. 'You can sit on my lap?' Beca aims for him again, but he dodges it this time. 'Okay, Chloe'll sit on my lap! Jesus, woman, what do you want from me?'

'No one's sitting on anyone's lap. There should be room. Move your ass.' She uses her foot to nudge Jesse into shifting into the very corner of the bed. She takes her computer from him, balancing it on her lap as she taps in the password. He peers over her arm to try and work out what it is.

'ILOVECB,' he reads aloud, pretending to sound mystified. 'Who's CB? Ow, fuck!' He winces, rubbing his arm. 'You punch hard for a tiny little thing.'

'He's lying, that's not my password,' she assures Chloe hurriedly, who just chuckles. She notices Chloe is still standing, playing with her fingers in a slightly awkward fashion. 'You can sit, Chloe.'

Looking as unsure as Beca feels, Chloe slowly lowers herself into the seat next to Beca. She leaves as much space as she can, which isn't much. She thinks she knows why Chloe is so tense, assuming it's the same reason as Beca's – the last time they sat together on this bed, watching something together, she'd screamed at Chloe for touching her. A wave of guilt passes through her, one she often feels every time she's near Chloe now.

While Jesse is busy pulling Beca's computer chair over so he can put her laptop on it for a better view, Beca crosses her arms over her chest and surreptitiously pokes Chloe's right arm.

'Hey,' she says, speaking out of the corner of her mouth. 'Relax.'

Chloe turns to look at look at her. Their faces are a little too close for Beca's liking, but she tries not to let it bother her. After searching Beca's eyes for something for a few moments, Chloe is apparently satisfied and allows some of the rigidity in her muscles to ease. It means more of Beca's left side is pressed against Chloe's, but no more than her other side is to Jesse. She tries to find being surrounded on both sides comforting rather than unnerving, slightly helped when Chloe touches the fingers still resting on her arm with her own– just once, a sign of thanks - then lets her hand fall back to her lap.

Jesse finally gets the movie to start playing and cheers. 'Alright, we're finally good to go! Should I start from the beginning?'

'No need,' says Chloe, 'I've watched this movie more times than I can count.'

Jesse's jaw drops - he looks thunderstruck. 'You like E.T. too?' When Chloe nods he gives Beca a dirty look. 'I think I'm gonna have to resign as your lesbro and be Chloe's instead. She's way cooler.'

'She's bi, idiot,' Beca replies, rolling her eyes.

'So? We'll be bi-bros... Or something.'

'Don't worry, Beca, I don't want Jesse as my lesbro or bi-bro, or anything,' Chloe assures her. She crosses her legs; her toes skim Beca's calf through her jeans, distracting Beca for a moment.

'I wasn't worrying. You can have him, for free. He needs walks twice a day and regular meals,' she deadpans, making Chloe giggle.

Jesse is pouting on her other side as he tries to find the spot they left off at. 'Lame. Does that mean I'm stuck with this one?'

'Hey, Beca's great,' Chloe protests.

'Sure, she's just vicious,' he says, rubbing his arm. 'Still, I know she loves me really despite the whole territorial Yorkshire terrier act.' Jesse puts his arm around Beca's shoulders and squeezes her shoulders. She quickly pushes his arm off her, but not before she notices Chloe studying them, her elbow on the armrest and resting her head on her palm.

'You guys act like you've known each other for a long time, you know that?'

'I have to spend far too much time with him at the station,' Beca grumbles. 'I'm sad to say I've actually gotten used to his presence, annoying as it is.'

'I'm sure he's not that bad…'

'You've been roped into watching a movie with me and him,' Beca says wryly, 'I'll ask you if she still feel the same way in an hour.'

'Speaking of watching… Are you girls done? Because I seriously need Beca to see the end of this. Maybe it'll pull something in her cold, empty heart,' Jesse teases. His comment makes Chloe frown, and Beca simply gives him an unimpressed look. Realising he's created an awkward moment, Jesse coughs. 'Alright then! Let there be movies!' He says, before, dramatically pressing the "play" button.

Beca doesn't even try to watch the movie, despite how much Jesse wanted her to. She's gotten good at gauging the basic mood of a scene and arranging her face to show an appropriate emotion. To be honest she wasn't that interested in the first place – aliens, so not her thing even if she liked movies – but it's especially hard to concentrate when she gets so distracted watching the way Jesse and Chloe interact as they watch the remainder of E.T.

Somehow, Beca had assumed Chloe was staying with the two of them mostly out of politeness, and that she'd probably leave halfway through with an excuse. After all, she'd responded to Beca's text, not Jesse's, so it was only logical to think she'd wanted to be with Beca. When Chloe had readily agreed to stay, she'd been surprised, and had immediately dreaded the idea of her two friends spending time together because they would surely embarrass her in some way, probably joining forces so they could tease her relentlessly. They'd probably swap stories about her. Jesse would probably try and set them up again by dropping hints about Beca's supposed crush on her. Beca would strongly consider the consequences of knocking out both her best friends.

That's what she'd expected. That's what would have been normal, even if she wasn't really looking forward to it.

That is not what happens. Instead, Beca has to spend the next forty-five minutes sitting silently in between Jesse and Chloe as they chat the whole time. They don't just talk about anything, though. Oh no. That would be okay; she could deal with mindless talking about anything, because at least then she could participate.

But they only talk about the movie. They mouth famous lines together, bantering and exchanging trivia about the movie and the actors and the direction. Names like Spielberg, Henry Thomas and Drew Barrymore drop easily from their mouths, names Beca is familiar with but doesn't know enough about to offer anything new to the conversation beyond a brief comment that she found Drew Barrymore hot. Both Jesse and Chloe had agreed – even if discussing it while seeing her on screen as a kid was weird - but then the topic had moved on without Beca and she was irrevocably lost.

It's not that she's jealous. Because that'd be stupid. It's just… sobering, to realise that two people, probably the most important people in her life right now (as sad as that sounds), that came to spend time with her could just as easily get on well without her. They don't even need her here right now to have a good time; they have their film titles and their actors and their actresses, which is like them immediately having a million in-jokes with each other that she could never understand.

They'd make a cute couple, Beca accidentally finds herself thinking, and there's nothing to stop that happening. Jesse might make a lot of jokes about her being with Chloe, but he'd never really met her properly before now. He's nice to look at, she supposes, and Chloe is gorgeous, so there's no reason they couldn't be attracted to each other. And they already have stuff in common, stuff Beca will never get in a million years nor ever want to. They obviously get on well, considering Jesse is grinning like a madman, and Chloe... Chloe's smiling too, at Jesse. Something about that last bit really gets at her, and she's not sure why.

As soon as she gets onto this train of thought, she wishes she could bleach her brain and make it disappear because her mood takes an immediate and unexpected nosedive.

Some time later, near the end of the movie Chloe seems to notice Beca hasn't said a word for a very long time. Her brow knits in concern. Casually turning her body a little, she arranges herself so she can whisper to Beca without Jesse noticing. Beca does her best to ignore her movement, especially when her knee presses firmly into Beca's thigh.

'You okay?' Her breath moves some of Beca's hair, making it tickle her face.

Beca nods silently, staring straight at the screen without blinking. She can't see what Chloe's doing, so she flinches suddenly when Chloe leans in closer, her breath now washing over her ear instead.

'I'm glad I'm here. I'm having a really nice time,' Chloe murmurs to her. Beca doesn't mean to scoff out loud, but she unfortunately does. Chloe's face scrunches up in confusion. 'Are you sure you're okay?'

'Peachy,' she mutters. She stands up, making Jesse jump who has evidently forgotten she was there. 'Be back in a minute.'

She leaves the room quickly, not sure where she's going but knowing she needs to be out of there. She can't take another minute of hearing how much Chloe's enjoying being with Jesse.

'Beca, wait!' It's Chloe, of course, who runs out after her. Beca doesn't stop, power-walking her way down the corridor.

'Go back inside, Chloe,' she calls back to Chloe dully. It's a frustratingly long corridor to the front door. Chloe's longer legs give her an unfair advantage, too, so she easily catches up with Beca and tugs on her arm to make her face the front.

'What's wrong with you?' asks Chloe, frowning.

'Nothing's wrong,' she mutters, avoiding Chloe's eyes. 'Just need some air.'

'If nothing's wrong then why are you giving me Beca sulky face right now?' Chloe points at the deep crease in her brow.

'I'm not sulking.'

'You kind of are,' Chloe says. She hesitates, then steps closer. Not as close as she might have gotten in the past, but still close enough to put Beca on edge, especially when she gently tilts Beca's chin upwards with one of her fingertips to make her look at her. Beca tries her best not to slap her hand away, knowing it would upset Chloe and probably reset the progress they'd made, but it still makes her heart hammer. 'What's the matter? Is it something I said?'

'No,' Beca replies, edging her face away from Chloe's fingers. Chloe sighs and instead lets her hands settle on Beca's arms, rubbing up and down soothingly with her palms.

'Look, whatever I did, I'm sorry and I didn't mean to do it,' she says quietly. Beca just shuts her eyes, frustrated with herself for making Chloe feel bad again. 'Are you still going to go out for air?'

'I dunno. Maybe.'

'Can you wait here? I'll just go back and get my stuff.'

'What?' Beca's eyes fly open and her head darts up, certain she's heard wrong. 'Don't you want to watch E.T. with Jesse?' She can't stop the resentment entering her voice, and knows Chloe can hear it.

Chloe shakes her head, smiling slightly. 'So I was right. Beca,' says Chloe, stepping even closer and looking her in the eyes. 'When I got that text, I came here for you. Not Jesse.'

Chloe's smiling at her. That one smile. The soft but wide one that makes her eyes light up and crinkle up in the corners, the one she showed Beca after they sang together, after she auditioned and at hood night. It's so damn fond– even though they've known each other just over a month now, even though Beca's shouted at her and made her cry before, even though she forgets to text Chloe for days at a time sometimes when she gets wrapped up in her mixes, even though Beca's sulking right now and making Chloe feel like she needs to apologise again. No one's ever looked at Beca like that. Jesse certainly doesn't. And that's not the smile she was giving Jesse earlier.

Her hands pass up and down Beca's arms again, her thumbs brushing Beca's biceps.

'Maybe next time it can just be you and I?'

It's like some sort of chain reaction, because Beca feels herself smiling back, the way she always does.

'… Okay. I'd like that.'

'Come back in with me for now?' asks Chloe. 'I mean, I like Jesse, but I don't want to sit in your dorm alone with him.' Chloe holds out her hand to her. After a moment Beca takes it, letting Chloe lead her back into her dorm. Just before they reach her door, she pulls Chloe to stop her.

'Why are you always so nice to me when I'm such a bitch?'

Chloe regards her for a few moments, considering the question. 'You're not a bitch,' she replies eventually. 'You're just insecure and it makes you do stupid things. But also,' she says, gripping Beca's hand tighter. 'I'm not being nice… I'm being your friend. Come on, let's go watch the last five minutes.'

She opens the door and leads Beca back into her darkened dorm. She sees Jesse's eyes widen a little at their joined hands, but she quietly shakes her head at him, a silent request for him to hold his comments. He does so, but his raised eyebrow tells her he's going to ask her about it later.

Beca Mitchell

I'm so screwed.