"Chloe, I can do it."
A smirk was firmly on those lips that had Beca transfixed in the mirror, her body breaking into goosebumps as those hands skimmed down along her arms. She was trying, oh so valiantly, to seem cool and confident in front of the other Bellas. In front of all those girls she still kept her walls so high against. Aubrey was watching their interaction closely as she worked with the other girls, knowing just how much Chloe likes to distract Beca under the guise of helping her work out the dance steps.
"Maybe." That voice was teasing, the redheads eyes sparking with mischief. It was a look that sent heat through Beca even as she sighed. "That doesn't mean I can't help you do it even better."
Fighting a smirk herself at the playful wink Chloe sent her in the mirror, Beca nodded and let her go through the dance once again, trying to ignore the way she was trailing her fingers across her skin and pressing butterfly kisses to her neck. It was the light breathy moan that the brunette didn't think anyone would catch that seemed to send Aubrey over the edge with her frustration.
"Alright! Since we've already been here for a while and some of us can't seem to focus." The blonde's cold gaze softened a bit at the sheepish smile Chloe sent her, though Beca was all flashy grin. "Let's just relax for a while, we can pick up rehearsals tomorrow. You're all actually improving very well." The pride in Aubrey's voice was evident though she still had a slightly annoyed look at having to dismiss them early for lack of focus.
"Hey, Captain." Beca brought all eyes to her a second later as she spoke out and slipped her arms around Chloe's waist, pulling her willing girlfriend into her. "Mind if I text the guys for a spontaneous band practice? We could put on a little show and order food and just have a little pre-victory party."
Aubrey's eyes narrowed as she took in Beca's stance, obviously relaxed and yet still kind of hiding behind a smirking Chloe who was attempting to hide her phone. With a suffering groan, she rubbed her temples. "They're already waiting outside with instruments and pizza aren't they?"
"Yep." Beca popped the end of her response, grinning wildly even as she shrunk behind her girlfriend a little bit.
"Fine! Since we're all here anyway, we may as well have some kind of music going on." The blonde turned around in a huff, keeping her aggravated facade up while fighting a tiny smile quirking her lips.
Letting out a little sound of victory, Beca shot the boys a text so she could stay attached to Chloe, the band moving into the space fairly ungracefully moments later. Tilting her head up, Beca kissed the curve of Chloe's ear, reveling in the contented little sigh she gave while settling even more into her hold. "What should we sing, Red?" Her voice was low, soft, as if she were seducing her with a simple question.
The reaction was immediate, a shiver trembling through Chloe as an almost silent gasp slipped past her lips. Swallowing thick, she tried to gather her wits while Beca's fingers slipped ever so slightly under the hem of her top to tease a faint sliver of skin. "I-I don't know. You could.. Oh." She stopped abruptly when Beca's lips hit her neck, teeth dragging ever so slightly over her quickening pulse.
Beca could feel the quiver in Chloe's body, smirking against her skin as she simply rested there after her girlfriend couldn't seem to gather her wits with her teasing. "I could what?"
Turning in the smaller girl's arms, Chloe caught her eyes, immediately smiling at how Beca seemed to soften at the sight of the slightly shy expression on her face. "You could play for me. The one you've been working on that I haven't heard yet. I know why you wrote it and I want to hear it. Please?"
Biting her lip, Beca nodded slowly. She knew just the song, the one she'd written when she'd experienced a night terror with Chloe. Something she'd never wanted to experience, seeing that terror stricken across her normally happy girlfriend's face. They didn't happen as often as they could, Chloe telling her all these tricks she had for helping. The only reason it had happened at all was the fact that she had been missing so much sleep, so worried about her school work that she hadn't thought about her evening meditation. Chloe had skipped her usual nighttime routine for once, simply falling into bed with Beca following two hours later to find her tossing in bed with that horror filled expression etched into her features.
Though it was the please that got her. Really, she thought the song should be just for Chloe but this showed just how much she needed to hear it. Allowing the others to listen to a song Beca had crafted just for her. It made her heart warm.
Leaning forward a little, hands sliding easily into messy red hair, Beca pulled Chloe into a soft kiss. She didn't move to deepen it, simply putting everything she was feeling into the gentle press of her lips, letting the world and the rest of the people in the room melt away for one perfect moment. It was enough to daze Chloe, her eyes slightly unfocused as she smiled at her girlfriend as she moved her to sit in one of the chairs.
Beca grabbed her own chair, moving it to sit in front of Chloe a little, and then grabbed her acoustic guitar from the stash of equipment the boys had rolled in. Letting her hands trail over the blue finish, she sat and settled her chin on the curve of the guitar, almost reverently tweaking the tuning keys to get the sound just right. By the time she was finished with her gentle strumming, Beca had the attention of the entire room. They knew she could sing, knew she was the lead in the band, and knew she killed it with her mixed. This was new information for most of them, though, as Beca never usually played in front of them. The only ones not surprised were Chloe and the boys.
Ignoring the curious staring, Beca simply jumped into the song, strumming just as soft as she led into those carefully crafted lyrics. "When she sleeps, there is a fever dream, yeah. It brings a night terror to harm this fragile bird. She speaks in tongues, her words they come undone, yeah. And with a wayward mind she struggles through the night." Each note, each word was already drenched with enough emotion to send a tiny shock through the room. The Bellas knew how Beca performed with them but none had been to a gig yet, none of them saw how she was when she connected with her songs. "All that I can do is hope she makes it through. Through the night, through the night."
There was a tiny shaky breath from in front of her and Beca's eyes immediately sought Chloe's out, noticing the faint mist that was clouding them. "These cold nightmares, they make her worse for wear. Lost in the dark, she's got a heavy heart, and when she wakes in her fragile state, Well, she calls my name hoping that I keep her safe." A soft sniffle sounded from somewhere behind her, the offset sound of trembling breaths filling the area as she continued. Chloe was her focus, her entire world, and she felt a jolted sense of relief when Aubrey settled a steadying hand on her redhead's shoulder. Of course Aubrey knew what this was about and she knew exactly why Chloe had asked for it. Knew she needed to hear it, knew she wouldn't rest until she heard the song Beca had been working on for weeks to perfect.
"But all, all that I can do is hope she makes it through. All the I can do is hope she makes it through. Through the night!" There was a soft crack in Beca's voice as she repeated those soft lines, her emotion breaking through even more as the words tumbled out in three more through the nights. "And all that I can do is hope she makes it through. All that I can do is hope she makes it through, through the night."
The last notes of the song rang out into a silence broken only by trembling breaths and astonished sighs. Beca could hear someone behind them sniffling again, knowing it was one her sensitive bassist Bryce as he was no doubt wiping furiously at his eyes. Before her, though, she could see the tears behind held in by Aubrey and the ones freely rolling down Chloe's cheeks as she stared at Beca with a soft thankful if not completely awed expression on her face.
Her guitar was off her lap for no more than a second when it was replaced with an armful of trembling redhead, Beca easily catching her up with a gentle hum to calm her down.
"You wrote that for me? It was so beautiful." Even her voice was shaky as Chloe tried to voice her feelings, though no words seemed to be completely enough. "You made that night seem poetic, like it was worth something."
"Hey." Two fingers caught Chloe's chin gently so Beca could easily lock their eyes. "I learned something about you that night, saw how things could be, and even in that fear you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. I was so scared and I felt so worthless, not knowing how to help and having to call Aubrey in just to figure out what to do to get things to be okay." Closing her eyes for a moment, Beca leaned into the warm hand Chloe immediately cradled her cheek in. "It started building, this song. A way to get my feelings out, try to voice the way I saw how you felt, and still make you have a way to see that night in a completely different light."
"Well it worked, I love it." Chloe delicately leaned the foreheads together, sighing when Beca tilted up just enough to give her a soft kiss. "I still can't believe I have my own song." That got her a light chuckle ticking her lips, brow drawing together in confusion before Beca explained.
"You're my muse, Red. Everything I write is for you."
So sorry an update took so long! Been in a bit of a dry space for these guys.. and writing period. Hopefully will be more into it again now! This is also kind of thrown together, as most of my chapters seem to be, so I hope you like it haha
The song used is Fragile Bird by City And Colour.