A/N: Sorry about the lateness, guys! It was hard getting back into the rhythm I had before after such a long break. Hope this longer chapter makes up for it. Longest chapter yet, actually. (Or maybe it won't make up for it… try not to kill me)

Also, you can find that Starships/Party Rock Anthem mashup on Youtube (where else?). Would've found two songs that worked on my own, but I'm lazy.

'You ready for this?' Chloe murmurs in her ear. Her hands are a little sweaty where they're gripping Beca's biceps, having not let her go from when she nearly tripped over in her heels on the way in.

'No,' Beca whispers back.

She feels Chloe's hands glide up to press her shoulders lightly, and then pass up and down her exposed arms a few times before she lets go. It's a comforting gesture that's kind of become their "thing", a respectable sign of reassurance that still allows some distance between them. Beca finds it usually helps to calm her nerves even if the slight clamminess of Chloe's palms right now draws an unintentional shiver out of her.

'Good luck hug?'

Beca turns to face Chloe and lets her wrap the two of them in a tight embrace. So tight, actually, it could better be described as clinging to her. And it finally occurs to Beca how much this moment must mean to her, and to Aubrey too – to be back on this stage after such a humiliating defeat last time. Regionals is only the first step. Finals must feel so out of their reach right now.

Realising this, she shuffles Chloe a little closer and allows her to rest her forehead on Beca's shoulder. When she happens to glance up, she catches Aubrey gazing at them absently. Her face is pale and drawn, but the hard line of her jaw and brow screams determination and a simple message: 'We cannot mess this up.'

She gives Aubrey a little nod over her shoulder, receiving a slow, rather confused blink, and then a small nod back.

Somehow, out of all the outcomes she'd predicted for Regionals, this one hadn't quite occurred to Beca.

Aubrey making a repeat performance of last year? One of the girls messing up and ruining the song? Chloe's voice giving out in the middle of the performance? All of those were possibilities, maybe even likelihoods. She'd expected those, and knew how to deal with them.

This, though? Sitting in a chilly police cell alone, patiently waiting while the sound of some woman screaming bloody murder down the corridor about her "rights" and "pigs" and "the man" threatens to drive her insane? Yeah, not quite how she'd anticipated spending her evening.

Fortunately for her, Beca – for once in her life! – has actually managed to make friends who care about her. Honestly, she hadn't really expected anyone to come to her aid, so it came as a bit of a shock to be let out after what felt like a lifetime, but could probably on have been an hour of being in the cell.

When she makes her way outside and spies a tired looking Jesse and Chloe through the transparent doors, she has to stop for a moment and take a few breaths, caught off guard by the overwhelming gratitude she feels towards her friends. Okay, so maybe there are some benefits to this whole "letting people in" thing.

As soon as she's collected herself, she grins and walks the rest of the way outside. 'Hey nerds.'

The way their faces light up when they see her is almost comical. Chloe launches herself at Beca and gives her a hug that nearly knocks her off her feet, but Beca's so elated that she just laughs, rocking Chloe from side to side. 'Thank God you're alright,' Chloe murmurs, holding her as close as possible. 'I was worried.'

'She's lying, we were totally going to leave you in there for another hour or so,' says Jesse, exchanging a more subdued fist bump with Beca, albeit just as warm.

'Thanks, Jesse, that means a lot,' she says, but her eye roll is fond. She lets Chloe links arms with her (she also grips on to Beca's arm with both hands, as though worried she's going to be taken away) and tucks her hand into the crook of Jesse's arm as they walk down to where Chloe's car is parked. 'Gotta say, though – and don't tell anyone else I'm being this mushy - it was super sweet of you guys to bail me out. I'm pretty grateful.'

'Well, Chloe should probably get the credit, I was just going to phone your dad,' Jesse says, a tad apologetically.

'I convinced him that you wouldn't want him involved.' Chloe bites her lip. 'I hope that was the right thing to do?'

'Yeah, totally,' says Beca, relieved beyond belief that her dad isn't involved. 'Thanks, Chloe, Dad would've killed me if he found out.' Then something occurs to her. 'Wait, did you guys take care of the bail all by yourselves? I'll pay you back, I swear.'

'The Bellas, Jesse and I all pooled our money for your bail,' says Chloe, rummaging in her bag for her car keys. 'They're all waiting for us back at Amy's.'

'Amy's? Why Amy's?'

'Well, we were going to go to your dorm and wait but Cynthia Rose said that was a bad idea, because your roommate scares her…'

'Sounds about right.'

'Also no one really knows how, but Amy apparently managed to get one of the biggest dorm rooms on campus – one of the ones usually reserved for seniors! And she doesn't even have to share!'

'Wow. Lucky bitch,' says Beca, thinking of Kimmy Jin, who had gone back to her usual disdainful air towards Beca after showing that tiny bit of compassion with the tissues and ice pack. Her attitude seemed to change weekly, although she suspected it got worse the more time Beca spent taking up space in their room. Recently she's gotten a little stuck making this one particular mix of Bulletproof and Titanium together; it's missing something and she can't work out what. No change, big or small, can make it sound right to her ears.

Chloe opens the passenger side and back door for Beca and Jesse respectively before getting into the driver's seat herself. 'Okay, so here's the plan: we're dropping Jesse off at his dorm and then going back to Amy's. Aubrey wanted us to have a little meeting before we break off for the night.'

'Can't I come to this little aca-party?' says Jesse, with an exaggerated pout. 'Sometimes a guy wants to do his nails and share secrets too, you know.'

'Sorry, dude,' Beca drawls scornfully, 'can't invite any Trebles, lest my vocal cords be ripped out by wolves. Bella's pledge,' she explains, when Jesse looks confused. He snorts. 'Aubrey's completely ridiculous. She kicked out two perfectly good members in our first rehearsal because they were "Treble-boned".'

'Hey,' warns Chloe as she reverses out of the parking space. 'Aubrey's strict, yeah, but she's still my best friend. So I don't wanna hear you bad-mouthing her.'

Beca swivels in her seat, pretending to scowl. 'Oh, so she's your best friend? What am I, then?'

'You're my best friend too.'

'You can't have more than one.'

'Sure I can,' says Chloe, flashing an enigmatic smile in Beca's direction. They're out of the station now and back on the main roads. 'I just said so, so it must be true.'

'That doesn't make sense though!' Beca argues, not actually that upset but feeling the strange urge to tease Chloe. Must be the sleep deprivation. '"Best friend" implies the best, therefore only one. So who do you like more?'

'Bec, don't even try to make me choose, even in jest. You guys are both my best friends, and that's how it's gonna be, 'til we're old and crusty and you two are still fighting over me in the retirement home.'

Jesse groans, slumping back in his seat. 'I'm not so sure you guys should be friends at all if you're just going to argue about who likes who more. You don't see me whining about the fact I'm apparently not Beca's best friend, do you? Which, by the way, not cool,' he says, crossing his arms.

'Dude, you're my best friend, don't get all huffy about it.'

'So what about me?' Chloe says immediately, not missing a beat.

'You're both my… Okay, fine, you win.' Beca pretends to sulk, but she's grinning, and doesn't pull away when Chloe reaches over the centre console to hold her hand.

Just as Chloe said, all the Bellas are waiting inside Amy's dorm when they get in. They cheer when they enter. Beca does some sort of weird faux-badass shoulder shimmy, which Chloe rolls her eyes but laughs at, hand resting supportively on the small of Beca's back as she guides her in.

Amy's dorm is just as big as Chloe said it was too – perhaps bigger. Even though she's managed to cram two beds in there (for what purpose? There's only one of her. Beca decides not to ask what she uses the extra bed for), there's still plenty of room for all of them. Most of the girls are sitting on the beds, except for Aubrey, who is leaning next to what looks to be a poster of every single Australian celebrity Beca can think of that takes up most of the wall. Aubrey doesn't look happy, and Beca has to wonder whether she paid anything to the bail fund too.

'Did you get yourself a bitch?' Cynthia Rose is asking, at which Amy snorts.

'Please, Beca would be more likely to be someone else's bitch. Inside that badass heart beats the soul of a lonely submissive.'

'Guys, as fascinating a route that conversation would be to go down, let's try not to forget why we're here,' Aubrey interrupts.

'Yeah, I was in prison for that bit, so would someone like to fill me in?' asks Beca. Chloe crosses to one of the beds, tugging Beca after her and sitting them both down next to Stacie and Denise. She waves her hand, indicating Aubrey should go on.

Aubrey steps away from the wall and into the middle of the room, addressing them all. 'I asked you all to gather here after so we could discuss exactly what happened this evening. First off, the score sheet revealed that the Sockapellas almost beat us. And Fat Amy…' Amy gives her a weak smile, correctly expecting to be told off. 'You need to do it exactly as we rehearsed. No surprises.'

'But Aubrey,' Beca says, seeing anxious faces turn in her direction, wondering what she's going to say to set off Aubrey now. 'You can't honestly think we're ever going to win if we just play it safe. We should be taking risks, not sticking with the same boring routine each time.'

Aubrey breathes in deeply, letting it out through her nose which she's pinching the bridge of in frustration. 'Not this again, Beca…'

'No, I'm with Beca,' Cynthia Rose pipes up, surprisingly. Beca shoots her a grateful smile 'The Trebles never perform a song twice. She's right, we need to be doing more.'

Aubrey folds her arms, staring contemptuously down at Beca and Cynthia Rose. 'What more can we do than these songs? They are perfectly arranged, perfectly choreographed pieces sung by powerful, independent women. It is an honour to be singing these songs as many Bellas did before us! This is what is going to win us that trophy in Lincoln Centre in the end.'

'Did you even think of those words yourself, or are you just parroting what some bitchy captain told you when you were a lowly freshman like and tried to share your ideas?' Beca challenges, and instantly regrets it. From the way Aubrey's eyes flash and she unfolds her arms down to her sides, Beca knows she's seriously hit a nerve. Aubrey looks like she's ready to punch her right now. She suddenly feels Chloe squeeze her knee to get her attention.

'Don't just argue with her,' Chloe whispers urgently, 'or she'll never listen. Show her your mixes. Show her what you can do.'

Beca bites her lip. She is very particular about who she shows her music to, and thus far even Chloe's only heard snippets from physically stealing Beca's headphones off her while she works. She's never heard a song the whole way through; no one has, except maybe Luke if he's even listening to any of the mixes she's given him. Somehow it's so much more nerve wracking to sit there while someone listens to and picks your work apart in front of you, than to simply hand over a USB stick and run away.

'Beca,' Chloe says pleadingly, sensing her indecision.

'Okay, fine.' Beca lets out a defeated sigh. 'I guess I won't be able to convince any of you without some proof. Here, I've got some of my stuff on my phone…'

She takes out her phone from her pocket and starts playing a mashup of Party Rock Anthem and Starships, handing it over to Aubrey. She wrinkles her nose up, looking like she's about to hand it back – but then Chloe gives her a pointed look and she finally hits play unenthusiastically.

As they listen, Beca watches the reactions of the other Bellas carefully, worriedly noting every facial movement and trying to work out what they're thinking. It's not one of her better mixes, but the better ones tend to be the more personal ones so she doesn't carry them around on her phone. Still, the general reaction seems positive: Cynthia Rose is nodding along excitedly, while Fat Amy is full on dancing in her seat. Even Aubrey is looking a little impressed, if the little quirk in her eyebrow is anything to go by.

When she finally looks at Chloe, she's virtually glowing with pride. 'See! I told you,' Chloe gushes, gripping Beca's leg hard in her excitement. 'I knew you were good, although I didn't think you were this good.'

Beca rubs the back of her neck, a little embarrassed at the attention and the way the other girls are bobbing their heads to the beat and humming along. They all have smiles on their faces, and it's clear they're all impressed. 'Yeah, well. It's okay.'

'You're fantastic! Don't belittle yourself.'

The song ends, and automatically moves on to the mashup of Bulletproof and Titanium she's been working on – the one that she can't seem to get right. She's been carrying it around so she can listen to it away from her computer, hoping a change of scenery would alert her to what was wrong with it. Beca immediately jumps up to snatch her phone back from Aubrey and turn it off.

'Was… was that you singing?' asks Chloe. There's a strange expression on her face and she's blinking a bit too fast. Beca nods, a little confused. 'Can I hear it?'

Beca suddenly remembers how Chloe once told her – while naked – that Titanium was her 'lady jam'. The colour immediately jumps into her cheeks as the images (which she's thankfully been able to mostly forget about until now) assault her brain, realising why Chloe's looking the way she does.

Evidently Chloe is thinking along the same lines, because she says hurriedly, 'Not for that reason!'

It's the exact same phrasing she used when she was in the shower with Beca, which isn't helping. 'It's not done,' says Beca, hastily shoving her phone back in her pocket.

Aubrey clears her throat to get attention back on her, her expression strained. The other Bellas are glancing back and forth between Chloe and Beca curiously, wondering what just happened. 'That was… nice, Beca. You're obviously very talented with a computer.' From her insincere tone, it is evidently not intended as a compliment. 'However, this is acapella, and your ability to mix up tracks and make mash ups is interesting, but not necessarily a skill useful to us. We make whole new arrangements with our mouths, remember, not fiddle around with buttons on the computer to make mashups.'

'That's not what I do,' Beca growls.

'Aubrey,' Chloe says softly, 'don't you see? Can't you hear it? She has this ability to manipulate music that's just incredible - in hearing things that work together in two pieces that shouldn't. But she can make them work together. I've never heard anything like it. And I know Beca would have some great ideas if you – if we heard her out: she could make us amazing, make us work the way we aren't right now.'

It's the most complimentary anyone has ever been towards her music: Beca is looking at her, open-mouthed. But it hasn't touched Aubrey, who is gritting her teeth so hard Beca can actually see a vein pulsing in her forehead. 'Be that as it may,' Aubrey says stiffly. 'I would prefer us to remain the way we are already, upholding the tradition of the Bellas before us.'

'But Aubrey -' Chloe starts, but Aubrey shouts, 'Enough, Chloe! We're not discussing this anymore. I'm the captain, and my word is final!'

Chloe goes quiet then, staring down into her lap. Aubrey seems to realise what she's doing and visibly tries to calm herself. Once she's counted to ten, she puts on a fake smile. 'Now, we should leave soon. I'm glad we had this little meeting. You should all get some sleep too.' She makes a move towards the door, but then realises Chloe hasn't made to follow her. 'Chloe? Come.'

Chloe doesn't move.

'Chloe? Come on,' Aubrey says, a little more firmly this time.

'I'm not leaving just because you tell me to,' she whispers, closing her eyes. Beca wants to sit back down with her again, but gets the feeling that would probably make things worse.

Aubrey sighs. 'For goodness sake, pull yourself together. You're acting like a child. We have practice 8am sharp tomorrow and I will not make allowances for you not having enough energy in the morning. So you can either stay here and do – whatever-' she glares at Beca at this point, 'or come home and get some sleep so you'll be refreshed for tomorrow.

'So. Which is it going to be?'

There's a loaded silence as all the Bellas hold her their breath, wondering what Chloe is going to do.

After a few moments, the stubborn furrow in Chloe's brow falls away and she reluctantly gets up to leave. She shoots an apologetic look at Beca but she just shakes her head to tell her it's okay.

Aubrey and Chloe are halfway out of the door when Amy suddenly pipes up. 'Hey, uh, here's an idea! Why don't both you guys just stay here?'

Everyone in the room looks at Amy incredulously.

'Yeah! Or even, we can all stay here!' Amy says, warming to her own plan. 'It'll be like an… aca-sleepover, or something.'

'I don't know…' says Aubrey, looking around the room doubtfully. 'I'm not sure there's enough room for all of us to sleep. And what about clothes? I can't sleep in my Bellas uniform!' She looks scandalised at the very idea.

'There's two beds, and the couch,' Cynthia Rose points out. 'Why do you even have two beds in here, by the way?' Amy taps her nose and winks.

'Ooh! I've got clothes and sleeping bags in my car,' Stacie says. 'You guys can borrow some, there's probably enough to go around.'

'Why do you have all that in your car?'

'Why wouldn't I?'

'There still might not be room,' Aubrey argues. 'There's ten of us, may I remind you.'

'Well, just nine,' says Beca. All heads in the room whip around to face her. 'I think I'm gonna head home, guys. I'm exhausted, I don't really have the energy for any great big girly sleepover thing.'

'Oh no,' says Fat Amy quickly, 'if we're staying, you're staying too. New Bella rule. Tell her, Aubrey.'

Aubrey seems completely blindsided by the way the conversation has turned. 'Wait, I haven't even decided if I'm staying too.'

'You have to. New Bella rule, remember?'

Beca rolls her eyes, knowing they'd likely never let her leave anyway. 'Fine. I'll stay. But I'm sleeping on the couch. Alone,' she adds, not wanting to have to sleep on the floor or share one of the beds.

Amy glances at the couch, smirking. 'Sure, go for it. But just to let you know - it's uncomfortable as fuck.'

Chloe looks up at Aubrey. 'Bree?' Her voice is imploring - could perhaps even be described as meek –and she's obviously trying to apologise to Aubrey for their previous argument with her eyes. It's a rather sickening sight. Beca has to actually turn away before she pulls an Aubrey over both of them.

For a tense moment, Aubrey seems very much like she's going to refuse, but then the fight seems to simply drain out of her. 'Okay, fine,' she says reluctantly, with an understanding nod in Chloe's direction. 'But only because it'll make it a lot easier to round you all up in the morning for practice.'

'Truth or dare?' Aubrey complains as soon as an empty Mountain Dew bottle starts being waved around. Alcohol has been very firmly banned for the night by their obsessive captain, but that doesn't stop the other girls from surreptitiously taking swigs and decanting drinks into soda bottles from Amy's stash (handed out while Aubrey went to the bathroom) when she isn't looking. It's become kind of a game – see how pissed you can get before Aubrey notices. 'That game is so infantile.' Beca can't help but agree.

'Oh Bree, lighten up. We made it to the semi-finals!' Chloe says, nudging Aubrey in the ribs with her elbow. The two of them are sitting on the floor, the sleeping bags that Stacie brought up half draped over their laps. 'You can relax a little for one night, can't you? It's just a way for us to get to know each other.'

Aubrey grumbles something that sounds like, 'Or end up running around the quad naked,' but she eventually settles down into the squashed circle the other girls are sitting in, the bottle placed haphazardly in the middle of the floor.

Meanwhile, Beca is hovering in the corner hoping she won't be forced to play the game too. Unfortunately for her, Chloe notices her doing this and marches over. 'You too,' she says, giving her a stern look. 'Sit.'

'I don't want to play,' she whines, even as Chloe's seizing her wrist and pulling her over to their little circle.

'Tough, you're going to do it anyway. It's a bonding exercise,' She forces Beca down onto the floor and plops down next to her, their backs resting against the couch. 'Who's going first?'

'I'll go! I'm a pro at this game,' says Amy, flicking the bottle clumsily. Her coordination is already starting to fade, and Aubrey is looking on a tad suspiciously; luckily, it lands on Aubrey and distracts her. 'Yes! Aubrey, truth or dare?'

Aubrey sighs in defeat, tucking her hair back behind her ear. 'Truth.'

'Hm. Truth, truth…' Amy taps her chin in thought, thinking for a full minute before she comes up with an idea. 'Aha. I know. Aubrey, you make a lot of fuss over the Bellas oath… But have you ever been Trebleboned?'

Aubrey goes scarlet, the red disappearing all the way up into her hair. 'No, of course not! I would never!' Aubrey says, almost shouting. Beca sees Chloe smirking out of the corner of her eye, mouthing a word to Aubrey, who glowers at her.

'I smell a story we're not being told here…' says Beca, waving her hand under her nose.

'I answered the question, and truthfully might I add,' Aubrey snaps. 'I'm not obligated to say anything else.' She takes a moment to calm herself, the red gradually fading from her cheeks, and then spins the bottle. It lands on Denise, who picks truth as well.

Chloe groans. 'You're all so boring.'

'Denise… Erm…' Aubrey casts around for a question, looking stumped. 'What's your full name?' asks Aubrey, frowning. Chloe mutters, 'Double boring' to herself. Beca nudges her, suppressing a smirk. 'I feel like we barely know you at all.'

'Wasn't it written on my Bellas form when I auditioned?' asks Denise.

'Yes, but the form mysteriously went missing after your audition, and now we don't really have any information on you at all…'

Denise blinks owlishly at the group for a few moments, as they all consider this. They really don't know anything about her at all. She clears her throat and says hesitantly, 'My name's Denise Smith. I don't have a middle name.'

'Smith?' says Amy incredulously. 'Wow, even your name is ordinary. Don't you have anything interesting about you? '

Denise shrugs, turning helplessly to Ashley who looks just as lost. 'My family moved here from Chicago?'

'I said interesting...'

'Your dad's a plastic surgeon, your mom owns her own beauty salon,' Cynthia Rose says unexpectedly. 'You play the drums and the guitar and you like cooking. That's all pretty interesting, if you ask me.'

A long silence follows.

'What?' she says defensively, seeing all the bug-eyed looks directed her way. Denise in particular is staring at Cynthia Rose in awe. 'I listen, unlike you people.'

'Let's move on,' says Aubrey quickly. 'Denise, you spin.' She does so – it lands on Lily. None of them know quite what she replies with, so Denise, who is looking very confused, takes a guess.

'I… dare you to tell us your biggest secret?'

Lily whispers something.

'Well, that one was never going to work out,' Amy says. 'Spin, Lily.' Lily spins – it lands on Beca.

'Yes!' Chloe cheers.

'I pick truth,' says Beca. Amy coughs into her fist, 'Wimp'.

'Everyone's already picked truth already,' Chloe complains. 'C'mon, Bec. Have some courage!' She shakes her bottle, winking.

'There's no rule that says I can't, so I'm going with truth. Sorry, Chlo.'

'Ugh, fine. So boring,' says Chloe, rolling her eyes. 'Alright fine. Lily, go.'

Lily whispers a question. When everyone simply looks at her blankly, she throws her hands up in frustration and actually storms out of the room.

'Should we go after her?' asks Beca.

'No, let's just… leave her,' says Aubrey, awkwardly diverting her eyes from the door that just slammed behind Lily. 'Someone else ask Beca a question.'

'Ooh! I'll do it!' says Chloe, looking far too excited at the prospect. Beca groans, expecting the worst. Chloe clears her throat, a mischievous smile spreading over her face; she leans closer to Beca. Her breath stinks of alcohol. How much has she drunk already? Beca needs to keep an eye on that girl, or Aubrey will start suspecting something.

'Beca.' Her voice is solemn, her gaze unblinking. 'Do you have a crush on anyone at the moment?' Beca is almost impressed at how little she slurred her words.

She quirks an eyebrow. 'Why do you want to know?'

''Cause we're playing truth or dare, and you picked truth. Duh.' Chloe rolls her eyes.

'Right. Then no,' she lies. 'I don't.'

Chloe's face falls so fast it's almost funny. Almost, that is. Beca tries not to think about the reasons behind that too hard, since Chloe is obviously quite drunk already and has little control of her actions. She probably just wanted more things to tease her about.

(Part of her knows that's a bullshit excuse, of course. A big part of her. Pretty much all of her. But it's easier than considering the opposite)

'Okay! Moving on.' She spins the bottle; it lands on Cynthia Rose.

'Dare me up, bro,' says Cynthia Rose confidently.

Beca thinks for a few moments, then a grin slowly spreads over her face as she thinks of a great one. Payback for Aubrey being a dick to Chloe. 'I dare you to slow dance with Aubrey. As dramatically as you can. Dips and all.'

Aubrey splutters, 'What?! No way!'

Cynthia Rose is laughing so hard she nearly falls over when she gets to her feet, slapping her knees. 'My God, Beca, you're a weird one, you know that?' She holds her hand out to Aubrey, who is shaking her head and backing away from Cynthia Rose. 'We need music, guys!'

'Ooh, give me a sec!' says Chloe, pulling out her phone with a giggle. She's apparently forgotten that she was sad only a few moments ago. 'I've got the perfect song to use.'

'There should be some sort of rule about not daring people to do things to other people in circle, that's like a double dare,' complains Aubrey. 'I'm not even wearing the right kind of shoes for this! I'll probably fall over.'

'Too bad, there isn't,' Beca counters. 'Now get up and dance. Take your shoes off if it makes you feel better.'

'Ugh!' Aubrey gets to her feet, taking off her heels, all the while shooting daggers with her eyes at Beca. Chloe's busy giggling to herself and finding some appropriate music. She eventually finds a song, which Beca immediately realises is Maroon 5's "Payphone".

'You can't slow dance to this!' Aubrey cries.

'That's the fun part!'

Cynthia Rose wraps her arms around Aubrey, with a solemn look on her face. 'Chill, Aubrey. Just feel the beat, or some shit like that. Let's take a journey, babe.' She suddenly dips Aubrey, making her yelp, then yanks her back up to her feet and begins to swings her about the room by her arms.

It goes on like this throughout the rest of the song, with Aubrey being basically thrown about the room by Cynthia Rose who keeps a completely straight face throughout the whole thing. All of the girls are laughing so hard tears are in their eyes, and even Aubrey is giggling too now she's getting into it, despite being bright red in the face. Cynthia Rose is actually pretty graceful, and despite the height difference and the slight awkwardness of them trying to move with no real knowledge of how to slow dance, it's still pretty fun to watch.

The song ends, and Cynthia Rose slaps Aubrey on the butt as she walks back to her spot. Aubrey is still trying to calm down, giggling quietly to herself and pushing her sweaty hair back from her face. It's kind of pleasing, in a way, to see her looking so flustered and out of sorts.

'So! It's my turn. And I've got the perfect thing,' says Cynthia Rose, smirking. 'Chloe. Truth or dare?'

Chloe regards warily Cynthia Rose for a few moments. 'Truth.'

'Aw, man.' Cynthia Rose groans. 'You suck.'

'What's that all about?' says Beca, turning to Chloe indignantly. 'You made all that fuss about me not doing dares and then you go and take truth?'

'I don't trust the way she's looking at me right now...'

'You're probably right not to,' says Cynthia Rose. 'Still, I've got a good back up for truth. Chloe…' She clears her throat ominously. 'Have you ever… kissed a girl?!'

Beca whips around to look at her in disbelief, but Cynthia Rose is grinning, and very obviously avoiding Beca's eyes. 'You don't have to answer that, Chloe,' Beca says quickly.

She sees Aubrey narrow her eyes. 'Chloe?' Aubrey says sharply.

Chloe's picking at the label on her bottle of Dr Pepper, which Beca notices is empty. God knows what was actually in it before. Maybe that's what causes her to mumble, ducking her head into her shirt, 'Yes.'

Several of the Bellas gasp, but not many.

'Who was it?' Aubrey demands, but Beca quickly cuts in with, 'That's another question, she doesn't need to answer that!'

'Was it Beca?!'

'No, it wasn't me!'

'My…' Chloe flounders, looking at Beca for support; she can only shrug helplessly. She can't decide for Chloe whether she should come out or not. Chloe shuts her eyes, cringing slightly as she says, 'My ex-girlfriend.'

Beca could hear a pin drop in the following silence. Cynthia Rose lets out a low whistle. 'Wasn't expecting that answer. My bad.'

Aubrey jumps to her feet, fists clenched at her sides. She says, with forced casualness, 'Chloe, a word please? Outside.'

'You can say whatever you want to her here,' Beca says, pulling Chloe back when she obediently stands up.

'This is between Chloe and I, Beca.'

'Oh, so that's a thing when it's you and her, but not with me and her,' Beca challenges, but drifts off when Chloe shakes Beca's hand off and timidly follows Aubrey outside. As soon as the door shuts behind them, the other Bellas rush to press their ears to it – Beca included. She hears things being exchanged like 'How could you' and 'tell me' and 'girlfriend' and even hears her own name come up a few times, but she can't work out the context of any of the phrases.

'Who knew Chloe had a thing for the ladies,' Amy mutters, getting some agreeing murmurs from the other girls. 'Makes sense though, even if it totally throws off my count of the lesbians in this group.'

'Sorry dude,' Cynthia Rose whispers, poking her in the back. 'Thought I was helping.'

'There's nothing to help me with,' Beca says from between gritted teeth. 'And you should be apologising to Chloe. Not me.'

A few minutes later, they hear footsteps coming towards the door and quickly rush back to their places, trying to seem nonchalant. Beca studies the two of them: Aubrey still looks majorly pissed off. Meanwhile, Chloe's eyes are red rimmed and sore, but it's difficult to tell whether she's truly unhappy or not. She shoots questioning looks Chloe's way, but she is ignored.

Aubrey says, 'I think it's time we went to bed now.' When they all just stare at her, she repeats, in her steely captain's voice, 'Bed. Now.'

They all jump to it immediately.

The other Bellas are completely exhausted from their night and plied with alcohol, so it doesn't take them long to all fall asleep. All except for Beca, who, despite her tiredness, has spent the last hour just tossing and turning. Turns out, Amy was completely right; the couch is probably the most uncomfortable thing she's ever laid on. The surface is leather, so it's either freezing cold or far too warm on her exposed skin, and it's difficult to really get comfy on its hard surface.

When she finally gets to sleep, she wakes up again only a short time later, and for a while isn't quite sure why she woke up. When she begins to regain her senses, however, she hears a little cough from nearby, and realises Chloe's sitting up, evidently not having been able to sleep either.

'You okay?' she asks, her words coming out as more of an exasperated sigh than she wants them to. It's been a long night.

Chloe jumps, swivelling around. There's not much light in the room, but she can still see Chloe's frightened eyes in the dark. 'God, Beca,' she whispers, putting a hand on her heart. 'You scared the life out of me. I thought you were asleep.'

'I was,' Beca grumbles, stretching her aching legs out from the night-time foetal position she inevitably curls up in during the night. 'Why aren't you?'

Chloe idly plays with the zipper's teeth along the side of the sleeping bag, sliding the zip back and forth. 'No reason.'

'Mm.' Beca yawns. She slides her arm underneath her head to prop it up, now able to see Chloe a little better, and realises she's rubbing her throat a little with her free hand. 'That whole keeping everyone at a distance thing is cute on me, but I'm not sure it works for you.'

'Cute, huh?' Chloe snorts. 'Someone sure thinks highly of herself.' The comment strikes Beca as a little unusual, since she'd usually agree with sarcastic, faux-egotistical comments like that, sincerely enough that she'd make Beca blush. She's also unusually sober, for someone that hasn't slept yet and was pretty tipsy earlier in the evening.

'Don't pretend you don't agree.'

'There's no pretending.'

'Tell me what's wrong.'

'What makes you think anything's wrong?'

'You're awake at God knows what hour and you keep rubbing your throat.' And you're not flirting with me, Beca finds herself thinking, but doesn't say, since frankly that just sounds pathetic.

'My throat's hurting, that's all.'

'Has it been doing that a lot?'

'Pretty much all evening, since we performed.'

'Why didn't you say?'

Chloe shrugs, or at least Beca thinks she does – the sleeping bag rustles in a manner that seems to suggest it. 'What can anyone else do? Besides give me a sympathetic look and ask if I'm going to have surgery?'

Beca quickly rearranges her face into something less sympathetic and drops the question about surgery in her mind.

'We're your friends, though,' she settles on saying. 'We care about you.'

'Even you?' Beca stiffens at the question. 'Sorry. I don't know why I asked that.'

'Of course I do,' Beca says quietly. 'You shouldn't even have to ask.'

A few moments of quiet pass where Beca thinks she broke Chloe by showing some rare, honest affection. Then she sniffs and Beca realises she's crying a little bit; she immediately scrambles out of bed to Chloe's side. Chloe bats her back, turning her body away from Beca.

'Sorry,' says Chloe with a breathless laugh, wiping her eyes. From the tear tracks on her face, Beca thinks she must've been crying for a while already. 'I'm always crying around you. You must think I'm such a baby.'

'You're not a baby. You're hurting. It's understandable.' Something else occurs to her. 'Are you upset about… You know. Earlier?'

'About…' Chloe jerks her head to the side, where Aubrey is sleeping close by. Beca watches her carefully for any signs she might wake up while they're having this conversation. 'A little.'

'What did she say to you?' She scowls. 'Did she say hurtful stuff about it?'

'No, no. Of course not. Aubrey isn't like that. She was just upset I hadn't told her.' Chloe rests her chin on her knees despondently. 'I would be, too, in the same position.'

Beca hesitates, but decides to ask the question that's been preying on her mind all evening. 'Why did you tell me and not her?'

'I don't know. I guess I just wanted you to open up to me, so the best way to do that was to be honest with you too.' She lies back down on her side, gazing up at Beca's face. She opens her mouth like she's about to say something, then shuts it.

'No, don't do that,' says Beca, nudging her with her toe, 'what were you going to say?'

'It's stupid.'

'I bet it's not. Try me.'

Chloe asks, her voice small and vulnerable, 'Can we cuddle?'

Beca lets out a sigh and shakes her head in amusement. She'd expected something worse. 'You know, I never really realised how much you seem to need physical affection before.'

'It makes me feel safe,' Chloe says quietly. 'Can we?'

'You want me to get in with you?'

'I'm sorry, you don't have to, I just -' She shuts up when Beca unzips the sleeping bag and slips in next to Chloe, instantly feeling a lot comfier. Warmer, too. Chloe's like sleeping with a radiator. It's a little uncomfortable on her freezing feet from going from cold to heat so quickly, but not in an entirely unpleasant way.

Chloe shifts towards Beca and relaxes against her body, burying her face in the crook of her neck. One of her hands fists in the back of Beca's shirt. She's not properly crying, exactly, but she's shaking and every so often her wet cheek brushes Beca's. She raises a tentative hand to Chloe's hair, gently running her fingers through it in as soothing a motion as she can manage when her fingers are shaking.

This is okay, she tells herself over and over. She's just comforting Chloe, the way friends do, and she's not expected to do anything more.

It's not okay. Beca's pretty much dissolving into a panic attack right now; the urge to run away is strong, overpowering even, but feels trapped inside the confines of the sleeping bag. The zip is behind her, and there's no way she can undo it without Chloe noticing. Not that she wouldn't notice Beca getting out, either.

Chloe must notice the pounding of her heart beat or the way her breathing is getting laboured, because she reaches out and strokes Beca's arm. 'You can get out if you need to. I won't hold it against you.'

'No, I want to stay, I want to make you feel better...'

'You already did.' She reaches behind Beca and unzips the sleeping bag for her. 'It's okay, you can go.'

'Are you sure?'

'Positive. Go on.'

It takes her a few seconds to force herself to leave - somehow, even though she's freaking out she doesn't actually want to go. Eventually, though Beca disentangles herself from Chloe and reluctantly heads back to her own, much colder, more uncomfortable bed.

As she's settling back into the pile of sheets and towels barely functioning as a place to sleep right now, she freezes when she hears Chloe whisper into the darkness, her voice achingly honest even though Beca thinks she almost wasn't meant to hear.

'I'd do anything for you, you know.'

The confession makes Beca's heart jump back to her throat. She swallows the sensation down, wiping her sweating hands on her shirt. 'You too. Now, um, go to sleep.'

Beca doesn't wake again until morning, but when she does it's to something wet sliding down her face. This is shortly followed by another something that smacks her in the forehead, making a leisurely turn on her eyelid and slipping off her cheek. Still half asleep, she raises a heavy hand to investigate, finding that the something is soggy and circular.

She opens her eyes, peering blearily at whatever it is clutched between her fingers to realise it's a Cheerio. She has to blink a few times to make sure. Yep. Definitely breakfast cereal on her face, dripping with milk and all. Huh. Never saw that coming.

Looking up quickly reveals the culprit – Fat Amy is standing near her, bowl in hand. 'Ew, Amy. Stop it, what are you doing?'

'I've been doing that for ages. Funny, Chloe still hasn't reacted; guess she's used to waking up to wet things on her face,' says Amy in her familiar deadpan. She throws another Cheerio, which makes a leisurely arc onto Chloe's forehead. There's a small pile growing there already. However, Chloe just frowns slightly, mumbling to herself and snuffling into the pillow so the pile is dislodged.

'You're so gross,' mutters Beca again, sitting up. 'By the way, your couch is an insult to all furniture. My back is killing me.'

'Well jeez, sorr-y,' says Amy. 'I did warn you. That thing is harder than -'

'Do not finish that sentence.'

'Quadratic equations,' Amy finishes. 'What was up with that stuff anyway? Maths was never my strong suit.' She throws another Cheerio at Chloe.

'Stop that,' says Beca reproachfully. Chloe stirs at the sound of Beca's voice, sighing to herself.

'I think she just whispered your name,' says Amy with a grin.

'Shut up, she did not.'

'Nah, she definitely did. I heard it. She whispered "Becaaaa"',' says Amy, putting on a breathy, high pitched voice and pretending to swoon.

'She didn't say a word, let alone my name.'

At this point, Chloe happens to take that moment to roll over again and mumble, 'Beca? What'samatter?' before quickly falling back to sleep, making Amy roar with laughter.

'Where is everyone else, anyway?' Beca asks, trying to change the subject.

'Lily, Ashley and Aubrey went out to get breakfast. Also, did you even see Lily come back in last night? 'Cause I didn't…'

'No…'

Amy and Beca share a slightly disturbed look for a moment.

'Anyway, Denise, Stacie and Cynthia Rose are… over there.' She points at the little pile of girls in the bed, all still passed out.

'Why aren't you throwing Cheerios at them?'

'Are you kidding? They'd probably punch me before I even thought about doing it.' She squints at them, scrutinising their positions. 'D'you think they're having a threesome?'

Thankfully, Beca is saved from having to answer this question as Aubrey suddenly enters the room, closely followed by Ashley and Lily who are clutching a paper bag each. She looks dismayed upon seeing that all the girls except for Beca are still asleep. 'Amy, I told you to wake them all up!'

'I woke one up,' says Amy, pointing at Beca. 'Chloe's being pretty difficult right now.'

Aubrey stomps over to Chloe's sleeping bag. When she sees the pile of Cheerios on her pillow, she rolls her eyes and brushes them off with the tip of her shoe. 'Did you just throw food at her? Why didn't you try yelling or something?'

'Oh yeah, that's a great idea!' Amy clears her throat and cups her hands around her mouth. 'Chloe! WAKE UP, BECA'S NAKED!'

'Amy!' Beca howls. Unfortunately for her, it does have the desired effect on Chloe since her eyes finally pop open – however, the other girls on the bed also wake up, lessening the impact slightly.

'Huh, guess everyone wants to see Beca naked,' Amy comments.

'Who's naked?' Cynthia Rose grumbles. 'Beca, put your clothes back on.'

'No one's naked, especially not me!'

'Shame,' says Stacie, stretching out with a yawn. Chloe is similarly stretching, wiping sleep from her eyes.

'Get up, you slackers,' Aubrey says sternly. 'Practice should've been an hour ago. You're lucky I let you guys sleep in this much.'

'Dude, Regionals was yesterday.'

'We only have a few months to prepare, Beca! We need to make sure we're spending every moment perfecting the performance, so no one deviates.' She shoots a glare at Amy, who holds her hands up to show her innocence.

'Hey, lay off, Aubrey,' says Beca, scowling. 'Amy did a great job with that solo.'

'Beca, it was pure luck that we even got through to the next round.' Aubrey crosses her arms. 'I want you all dressed and fed in the next half an hour, and then we're going to discuss exactly what you guys did wrong yesterday.'

When the door slams behind her, Amy remarks, 'She seems more stressed than usual.'

Lily whispers something. As usual, they are left simply blinking at her in an attempt to work out what she's saying. Thankfully, Ashley is able to translate.

'We ran into Bumper on the way to get food and he said some pretty mean stuff. I'm guessing that's why,' she explains around a mouthful of pastry.

'Speaking of food,' says Amy, brightening, 'what did you guys get?'

'Haven't you already eaten?' points out Beca. 'Considering all the Cheerios you were throwing at me and Chloe.'

'No, I used most of them on the two of you before I got to eat much… Seemed like a good idea at the time.'

Chloe's fully awake now, combing fingers through her straggly hair, trying to smooth out the tangles. She looks a little worse for the wear this morning; her cheeks are a bit pale and there are dark circles under her eyes. She wonders how long Chloe was awake before Beca noticed her.

'Hey sleepy head,' says Beca with a smile, catching her attention. She hands her one of the Styrofoam cups of coffee from the bag Aubrey brought in, taking out a croissant for herself. 'How's your throat?'

Chloe seems to hesitate before taking the coffee. 'It's better. Thanks.'

Beca pats the seat next to her on the couch. 'Come join me on the couch from hell. Seriously, Fat Amy, where did you get this thing?' However, Amy is too busy with breakfast to answer. Chloe drags her sleeping bag over with her to the couch, wordlessly accepting a croissant of her own from Beca.

'Cold?' Beca asks, pointing at the sleeping bag. She's not surprised - Stacie's clothes don't exactly cover much up. She takes the blanket she was using to sleep with and drapes it around Chloe's shoulders, only getting a slight smile in return as thanks.

She watches worriedly Chloe as she picks at her food; there's a distant, pensive expression on her face that reminds Beca a little of how she looked when they were arguing. She clears her throat a tad awkwardly, trying to make small talk. 'So… Did you sleep okay in the end?' Chloe simply nods, staring down at her lap. She's currently massacring the croissant Beca gave her by shredding it into bits instead of eating it. Beca puts a hand over hers to stop her. 'That's for eating, not for confetti,' she tells her, attempting to make her smile. When it doesn't work, she sighs. 'Chloe, what's the matter?'

'Nothing.'

'Well, clearly there is since you're barely saying a word to me right now.'

Chloe just stares straight ahead. She's not even looking at Beca, who is seriously starting to freak out now.

'Chloe, tell me what's wrong,' she pleads, tugging uselessly at Chloe's wrist. 'Is it Aubrey? Your throat? What?'

'Neither,' says Chloe, letting out a breath and leaning back against the back of the coach. She winces. 'Wow, this thing really is uncomfortable. How did you even manage to sleep on this thing?'

'I have no idea.' Beca leans back too, tucking her legs up underneath herself. 'So it's not Aubrey, or your nodes. So... is it me?'

Chloe's silence gives it away, along with the way she absently clenches her fist, squashing the pieces of croissant into a ball.

'Did I do something wrong?' Beca asks gently. She drops her voice. 'Is it about last night? 'Cause, I'm sorry about leaving, if that's what's bothering you.'

Chloe looks away, a muscle twitching in her jaw. 'Forget it, you don't understand. Never mind.'

'I am minding,' she says, turning Chloe's face back around to hers. 'Remember what I said last night about the keeping people at a distance thing only being cute on me? Still true. Just talk to me.'

There's a moment's pause where Chloe just stares at some point over Beca's shoulder; she opens her mouth to try again, or to apologise, or something to make it better, but -

'I really liked sleeping with you,' Chloe blurts out suddenly.

The girls all turn around suddenly to look at them, having picked that moment to overhear what they said. Beca's cheeks turn pink, while Chloe's hand flies up to cover her mouth. 'She doesn't mean it like that,' she explains hurriedly, 'We just shared a sleeping bag last night…'

'I don't really wanna know what you guys "shared" last night, Beca,' Amy says, shuddering a bit.

'I do,' says Cynthia Rose. She wiggles her eyebrows.

'Okay, we're taking this outside,' Beca mutters to Chloe. She tugs a limp Chloe up by the arm, forcibly dragging her into the hall. Before turning to Chloe she scans up down the corridor; thankfully there is no sign of Aubrey returning yet.

'That wasn't really what I meant to say, you know,' mutters Chloe, who looks about as embarrassed as Beca feels.

'I kind of got that,' replies Beca dryly. 'So ignoring that little outburst... What were you intending say?'

'Well...' Chloe dithers, wringing her hands together. She still has Beca's blanket wrapped around her shoulders, and with the way she's shifting about now, suddenly seems very young. 'Actually, maybe I did mean to say that. Kind of. I mean, not in that context, I could've found a better time to say it, but… the sentiment still stands.'

Beca frowns, trying to follow what Chloe means. She fails. 'Huh?'

'The sentiment still stands,' Chloe repeats, as though that helps.

'Which sentiment?' Beca asks, feeling stupid. 'That you liked...'

'Not just sleeping,' Chloe hastens to add. 'I just - I like being close to you in general.' She takes a breath, putting her hands gently on Beca's arms and rubbing up and down. Somehow it's not as comforting this time, with her being sandwiched in between Chloe and the door. 'I like it a lot, Beca.'

'Oh,' she says faintly, then, 'oh.'

'Yeah...' Chloe bites her lip unconsciously. 'Look, Beca. I-I know it can't have been easy, having to hold me like that. It must have been really hard for you - but you did it anyway. I … I know you're trying. And that means so much to me, you have no idea.'

'Oh.' Beca licks her suddenly dry lips. 'That's okay, I guess. I mean, I kind of enjoyed it in between freaking out, if we're being honest…'

The corner of Chloe's mouth lifts in a half smile. 'That's good to hear. But, Beca, you need to know something...'

'What?' Her responses aren't exactly intelligent, but it's hard to concentrate when Chloe seems to be drifting closer without even realising, basically backing her up against Amy's door. Her nostrils flare when she catches a whiff of that damned perfume, which still seems to follow her everywhere.

'I'm struggling.'

That makes Beca's head shoot up. 'Huh? What are you struggling with?' It feels like all she can do is repeat Chloe's words back at her, but she honestly can't work out where this conversation is going to end up - besides how her body seems to think it's going to, judging by the way her heart rate has picked up, ready to escape – or something else…

'I'm struggling with not being able to touch you,' Chloe whispers, taking hold of Beca's wrists. Her thumbs stroke along the inside of her arms, along her pulse point. The sensation makes the hairs on her arms stand up.

'O-oh…'

'I'm a pretty touchy-feely person, Beca, you know that. So this has been driving me crazy,' she breathes. 'And I want to respect you, I do. I'm trying my best to do that. But sometimes I get selfish. I get the urge to… do stupid things.'

'Stupid things,' Beca repeats dumbly. Her brain feels water-logged, like every thought is taking twice as long to struggle from her brain to her mouth. 'Like what?'

'Yeah. Like. Asking you to hold me in the middle of the night. Or… randomly touching your face…'

'My face?' Beca starts as Chloe suddenly cups her face between her fingers. Chloe's licking her lips, drawing Beca's gaze to the movement; she doesn't see how Chloe's looking at her lips too.

'Yes,' Chloe says, now close enough that Beca can feel her breathing on her face, erratic and uncontrolled. 'Your skin always looks really soft. And it is,' she adds, brushing her thumbs back and forth over her cheek. She lets out a choked laugh. 'God, are you even real?'

Beca clears her throat, trying to sound normal, like her legs aren't going to give way underneath her. 'Moisturiser, and stuff... I, Chloe, what are we even doing?' She tackles the elephant in the room head on, almost afraid to ask.

'Isn't it obvious?'

'N-no…' When Chloe's nose suddenly brushes hers, she gasps and tries to back up, but she's right up against the door now. 'Okay, maybe a bit. But. You don't want to do that.'

Chloe hums, the tip of her nose grazing Beca's cheek again. 'I do, though, Beca. You don't know how much.'

'No, you don't,' Beca says, in the gentlest tones she can muster. 'You're a bit hungover, and stressed out because of Aubrey, your nodes are bothering you… And I seem like a good place to get comfort. I know how much you need physical contact. But that's… we can't do this, Chloe. This isn't going to help.'

Chloe's eyes are shut. She tilts her head slightly so her lips touch the corner of Beca's mouth. One more move and they'd be kissing, for real.

'Chloe, we can't.'

'Why not?' Chloe whispers, her voice trembling.

A million lies spring to Beca's lips, ones that might actually get her out of the situation: I'm not attracted to you. I don't like you like that. I don't want to kiss you. I don't want a relationship.

Despite all that, what actually falls from her mouth is the useless: 'I just can't.'

'Can't or won't?'

'Is there a difference?' Chloe has touched her forehead to Beca's, bringing her nearer, and it's making it hard to argue properly.

'Won't means you don't want to. Can't means… you're not able to, for some reason, even though you want to.'

Beca doesn't say a word, trying not to breathe in case an inhalation draws Chloe any closer.

'Can't or won't, Beca?' Chloe asks in a low voice. A single tear trickles down her cheek. 'Tell me. I need to know.' Her hands slip from Beca's face, pass up and down her arms a final time before she steps back enough to see into Beca's eyes. 'Tell me,' she insists, her face crumbling at Beca's silence. 'Please…'

Beca lets out the breath she'd been holding, but can't say a word.

'I don't know,' is what she says, in the end.

A/N: I'm sorry. Please don't hate Beca. She's trying. :P

I recently realised I seem to ship Cynthia Rose with everyone, and I think it shows. Oops. Bloody characters taking over the fic.

For those asking about the Benji scene, I'll post all the deleted scenes on my profile, or as a bonus chapter when the fic is over. And believe me, I think there might be quite a few, because I write non-linearly and then eventually have to cut scenes I really liked. Like the 'castle scene', if any of you saw that floating around on Tumblr a few weeks ago. Boo.