Chapter 8

Two months went by rather quickly. During this time, Beca usually went to Chloe's apartment right after work. On the vast majority of days, she stayed the night. She even began leaving her clothes at the apartment. An empty drawer was designated and Chloe put all of her belongings there whenever she left something.

Chloe's purchasing habits changed as well. She remembered looking down at her shopping cart one day and realizing that half the things in it were for Beca. She hadn't even asked her to buy those things. It didn't take her long to realize that Chloe was doing this. She offered to split the bill and refused to eat until the redhead accepted.

Chloe began taking her on shopping trips from then on.

Stacie and Aubrey also became a more prominent part of their lives. Whether it was organized or by coincidence, they would run into each other two or three times a week outside of work. Even at work, they would see each other more often. Beca and Chloe couldn't be happier about it. They got the chance to watch the other two acting cute at a closer range and they weren't bad company either.

Tuesday - July 26th

It was around eleven o'clock at night. Chloe sat on her bed, her arms wrapped around her knees. She was wearing her pyjamas and was just about to go to bed. There was still some thinking to do though.

Today was Chloe's very bad, not good day.

"I have something to tell you," Beca announced. They had just sat down to begin work. Chloe turned to face the other girl to give her full attention.

"What is it?" Chloe asked.

"It's nothing major, I'm seeing someone. Thought you should know." Beca said it with a smile. Chloe was reminded that this sort of announcement was meant to be followed with a smile of her own and perhaps some sort of congratulations.

"That's great, Beca," Chloe said in as upbeat of a manner as she could manage, unsure of why the news didn't feel great. "How'd you meet?"

"His name's Ethan. He lives in my apartment building. I usually pass him on my way to work and we got to talking about two weeks ago."

"Oh, that's nice. I'm happy for you."

That was the correct response to give in such a situation, perhaps a little stilted but it would do. Her chest had tightened to a painful degree and it felt like she was short of breath.

Her strange symptoms continued throughout the day, especially when she found herself looking at Beca. Glancing happened frequently on a normal day but today was even worse.

When lunch came around, she was unable to eat much. Her mouth felt dry and she was incapable of swallowing. The taste of her soda was especially chemically.

By the end of the day, she just wanted to go home and lay in her bed. Work had been more exhausting for some reason. Beca had noticed her change and commented on it. Chloe wasn't able to come up with an explanation, her own thoughts on the matter confused.

As the two of them were walking to her apartment, she had tried to figure out what was wrong. It was clear that the brunette's announcement was what had caused her to become like this but she couldn't understand why. Beca had a significant other. It was a good thing. Technically, Chloe was happy for her.

Once they had arrived at home, they lazed about on the sofa until it was time to eat. Chloe didn't want to make food so Chinese was ordered to allow for more laziness. Really, she had wanted to go to bed almost as soon as she got home. Just collapsing on the mattress and cuddling up with Beca usually improved her mood.

Her plan had been cut short though.

Yawning announced the time for sleep and the two of them quickly got ready.

The phone rang, Beca's phone.

"Hey, Ethan," she answered.

Chloe slipped under the covers and turned her attention to the phone conversation.

"Okay, I'll see you soon," Beca said. She then turned to Chloe. "I've gotta go, Ethan wants me to come over."

"Oh, cool."

"You gonna be okay? You seemed kinda down all day."

Chloe forced a smile. "I'll be fine, I think I'm just exhausted."

She got out of bed to let Beca out and lock the door. She gave her a goodnight kiss on the cheek before she departed, a force of habit. After staring at her closed door for a few seconds, lost in thought, she dragged herself back to bed, the feeling from before now intensified.

So now she was here, still trying to figure out what was wrong with her.

Was she jealous of Beca? The smaller girl had found someone and Chloe's love life was basically non-existent. She had never been someone who was envious of things like that and it wouldn't make sense in the context of her best friend.

Beca wasn't the problem.

Just being with her improved Chloe's general mood. Once you got past her rough exterior, the brunette was a caring person. Chloe suspected that the younger girl presented herself as unapproachable so that others wouldn't take advantage of just how kind she was. Almost like a social defense mechanism.

Keeping with the analogy. If that was Beca's defense mechanism, that means that Chloe was her natural predator.

Whenever Chloe looked at her, she got the feeling that the other girl would always stick by her side. Beca was a motivator in a sense, telling her to take risks and enjoy life. Not because she would be able to protect her, but to be there with her when things became difficult. An acknowledgement that life wasn't going to be perfect but having someone to share it with made even the downsides worthwhile.

Chloe felt like she could share anything with her. There was no one else who knew her better. Beca was the one she would come running to with a problem. Beca was the one she wanted to cuddle up with after work. Beca was the one who had managed to get rid of her feeling of isolation.

Beca was more than enough.

She had found a significant other though. That meant that there was something else she needed that Chloe was unable to provide. There was someone else Beca could share her thoughts with. There was someone else she could cuddle with. There was someone else she could go to with problems.

Chloe wasn't enough for Beca.

She made Chloe feel special. Whenever the two of them were together, it never felt like she was there out of boredom or out of obligation. It never felt like she was making time for her, more like she was trying to spend as little time doing other things so she could spend as much time with Chloe as possible.

When Beca was with Chloe, it felt like she was there because she wanted to be. Because there was nowhere else she would rather be. Because she found Chloe interesting.

Because when the two of them were together, they could truly be themselves.

Like they needed the other to get there.

It was a stupid thing to be sad about. Chloe was her friend. Ethan was her boyfriend. While their responsibilities and expectations sometimes overlapped, they meant different things.

She was being selfish. Beca wasn't going to change because she had a boyfriend. If Chloe understood the brunette as well as she thought she did, then she knows that the other girl values their friendship just as much as the redhead. It was stupid to think differently.

Still, there was something else that would explain her depression. It had been lurking in her thoughts for a while now.

Attraction.

She had tried to justify finding Beca beautiful as a common observation. The need to hold hands was just part of Chloe's nature. The kisses were just to make her uncomfortable.

They were only half truths. Chloe was attracted to Beca. It was something she hadn't been willing to accept. Her hometown hadn't been the most inviting to that sort of thought and some of those ideals had been ingrained into her, just a little. Her mental freak-out had forced her to admit it to herself.

It explained the hand holding. Sure, being touchy-feely was Chloe's thing but there was never this much emotion involved.

And the kisses. More excuses to touch Beca. The goal wasn't to embarrass, it was to reassure, comfort and bring joy to her. The action allowed her to get even closer. The touch of her lips to skin would linger a little longer each time. Currently, kisses to the cheek were sometimes followed by nuzzling.

So she was attracted to her best friend, it wasn't a big deal. That sort of thing happens all the time. Other girls probably thought about their friends in such a way from time to time. Possibly just a phase she was going through.

Chloe wasn't going to ruin someone else's relationship because of a simple crush.

Thursday - July 28th

It had been two days since Beca slept in Chloe's bed. It had felt like an age and she had missed it. Ethan was great but they weren't at the cuddling stage of the relationship, let alone the sleeping together stage.

Currently, she was waiting in bed, looking through her laptop. She had her legs under the covers and was resting against the headboard. The left side was declared her side after the third visit. Not that either of them kept to their sides, always rolling into the middle and waking up as a tangled, cozy mess in the morning.

The room was dark, the only thing allowing her to see was the moonlight streaming in through the window.

The redhead came out of the bathroom in a towel, her hair still wet from the shower. She moved to the closet near the window and began shuffling through it. Finding a pair of pyjama shorts, she quickly slipped them on.

The towel was removed and placed on the rack.

Chloe had been partially naked in front of Beca before. It was guaranteed with the amount of time they spent together. She usually looked away to protect her friend's modesty. The other girl didn't seem to be bothered either way.

Today though, Beca couldn't help but glance.

Chloe's back still had a few drops of water that glistened from the moonlight. They trailed down her body slowly over smooth skin. Her legs, usually obscured, were on full display thanks to the shorts.

She slipped on a night shirt and turned around, smiling at Beca.

Beautiful, breathtakingly so. That was the first thought that came to her. Now that Chloe was facing her, the light cast on her face allowed her blue eyes to shine. There had always been something alluring about them.

There were other things that Beca was beginning to notice now. Namely Chloe's chest. From cuddling experience, she knew the other girl's bosom was soft but she had never noticed them like this before.

She averted her eyes quickly, hoping the darkness hid her staring.

"You okay, Beca?"

Busted.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied.

Chloe looked at the brunette curiously. "Are you sure? Cos you were staring at me like you'd seen a ghost."

"I'm fine, now come to bed."

The redhead slipped under the covers next to Beca and leaned against her before clamping her laptop shut and taking it away from her. There's been something different about Chloe recently. Something has been bothering her and it's been bothering Beca to not know what the problem is.

"Chloe, are you ok?"

"Yeah. Absolutely."

Beca looked at her friend closely. She slipped her hand under the covers and found her bedmate's hand, giving it a light squeeze. "You'd tell me if you weren't, wouldn't you?"

"Of course," Chloe says. She turns to look at her. "You don't have to worry about me, you know."

"I want to worry about you," Beca said, the words coming out succinctly.

Chloe smiled before leaning into to give a small peck on the cheek. "That's sweet of you."

"I'm actually doing it for selfish reasons."

"How so?" Chloe asked.

"Well, it proves that I am capable of empathy."

"Congratulations on the discovery."

"Plus, It allows me to show you I care about you without having to actually say it," Beca explained.

"Why don't you want to say it?"

"Because if I come out and say I care about you, it'll sound like I'm going soft and I can't have that affecting my reputation," the brunette said. "You understand, don't you?"

"I think so. You care about me but you don't want to tell me you care about me so you tell me that you worry about me so that I sort of get the idea that you care about me without you having to say you care about me so that the rest of the world doesn't think you're soft."

Beca smiled. "Close. It's you and the rest of the world that I don't want thinking I'm soft."

"You're too late on the former," Chloe said. "Your tactic is smart though. I think I may be able to use it too."

"Go ahead."

Chloe took a deep breath and exhaled. "So I missed you for the past two days but I don't want to seem overly attached so I'll tell you that the bed felt a little empty recently so that you get the idea that I missed you without me having to say it so that I don't sound clingy."

Beca nodded her head in approval. "Clever."

"I thought so," Chloe said.

A pause.

"Beca?"

"Yes."

"The bed felt a little empty recently," the redhead said, her eyes and the corners of her mouth giving off the impression that she was trying to hold back a smile.

"Oh really," Beca said, playing along. "Wait, is that why you've been a little off?" She really did want to know what had been throwing Chloe off. The other girl usually shared her problems so it was especially strange.

"Yeah," Chloe replied. "It feels weird when you're not here now."

Beca understood. She could count on her hand the number of times she had slept in a bed other than this one in the past two months. By now, she had gotten used to the feel of it, the way it settled. Additionally, she had gotten to know how Chloe settled against her. Arms wrapping around her, kisses on her cheek, hands massaging her shoulders or just caressing her.

Still, there was something off.

"There's something you're not telling me and you're probably holding back for a reason so I'll respect that," Beca said. Chloe's eyes flickered in a sense, almost giving away her true emotion. "But there is nothing you could tell me that would make me think less of you."

She just nodded and smiled, placing her head on Beca's shoulder once again.

A few minutes passed. Chloe had acknowledged that there was a problem in a roundabout fashion and she would put it out into the open when she was ready, mostly likely. It didn't help to reassure the brunette though.

"How's your writing going?" Beca asked.

Chloe seemed to perk up a little. "Surprisingly well actually, I'm still working out some of the plot points but I'm happy with the concept."

"What's it about?"

She looked at Beca before turning away. "I can't tell you."

The brunette was now even more curious. "How come?"

"Because you'll think I'm really lame." The redhead seemed embarrassed even though she had revealed nothing about her work.

"I'm not going to think that, I promise," Beca said rather sincerely.

Chloe huffed. "It's about these two girls who run a pastry shop together. It's about their relationship as well as the day to day activities and incidents that occur at the shop."

"Why is that lame?" The brunette was legitimately confused as to why the other girl didn't want her to know about it.

"Because it sounds so boring." Chloe put her head into her palms. "Also, I based the two main characters on us," she said, the sound muffled.

Beca tugged at Chloe's hands and forced her to look at her. "Chlo, artists tend to take inspiration from their experiences and surroundings, there's nothing strange about that," she reassured. "As for it being boring, if you want to write about it, then there must be something interesting about it." Chloe was now looking at her. "Personally, I think your story sounds cool."

"Thanks, Beca." She was smiling again.

"Why a pastry shop?"

"I just like the idea of the two of us working together like that," Chloe said. "It's not really about the shop though, it's more about our friendship. I'm just using the pastry shop as a way of setting up narrative situations."

"You think the two of us would be good at running a pastry shop?"

Chloe nodded. "I think so. You and I make a good team. We'd make pastries during the day and then retire to the apartment above the shop at night. You'd work on your music and I'd work on my writing. It'd be a single bedroom apartment so we'd have to share the bed."

"That actually sounds really nice."

"I think I'm writing my story as a way to show that our friendship can work regardless of our circumstances." Chloe looked to be thinking hard as she explained it. There was a sense that she wanted to get this right. "In essence, the pastry shop doesn't matter. You could have been a monster hunter and me, a succubus. Or we could have been MMA fighters. We could have been two cheetahs. It doesn't matter."

More has happened working at Pitch Perfect than she had anticipated. Beca hadn't expected to find someone like Chloe there. She wasn't someone who had cast aside all feelings as being weak. She wasn't that type of person. It was just hard to feel much when you had almost no one left. The redhead had come along and allowed her actually feel things instead of being apathetic towards everything.

"I get it by the way, what you said earlier. I missed you too" Beca said. "Sometimes I wish I could stay in bed all day with you rather than go to work."

Chloe didn't say anything. Instead, she moved on top of her and settled into her lap. Slipping hands around Beca's neck, she began peppering kisses on her cheek.

She continued to say nothing before resting her head in the crook of the brunette's neck.

Another week passes in which Beca finds herself taking sidelong glances at Chloe far more often. It becomes a distraction that she is far too happy to entertain. The other girl doesn't seem to notice and she considers herself discreet enough to not get caught regardless but the question remains. Why is she compelled to look?

Also, she was still dating Ethan. Something she needed to remind herself from time to time.

Saturday - July 30th

Free time. Finally. Beca had insisted on some time away from Chloe and Ethan to spend it working on her music. It was around ten in the morning and she was in her pyjamas, brushing her teeth while simultaneously loading up her suite of music programs, pulling out the musical notation she scribbled on bits of paper and generally getting organized.

Once her shower was completed, she sat down. A fresh start to the day should allow the creative juices to start flowing and allow for better creation of music. No deadlines, no obligations and no distractions to occupy her mind.

It was great. She managed to create more than she had done in weeks. There was a satisfaction to just creating, even if no one else would see it.

Art is generally shared but the person who gets the most satisfaction out of it is the person who created it. It allows said person to display their thoughts and ideas. This may be done to illustrate a point or just due to the fact that the artist was incapable of conveying their thoughts in any other way. It doesn't matter the format, be it film, music, painting, video games or dance.

Beca used it for the latter reason. The idea that art brought the most joy to the creator was especially relevant to her as she had yet to share any of her work. She had spent such a long time creating that there was now a fear associated with revealing her work. What if they didn't like it? That would mean all her years of work had been for naught.

Some artists want approval of their work. Beca wasn't sure if she did but just to avoid having to find out, she hid it from the world.

Her euphoric feelings were short lived. The thing about creativity is that it comes in bursts. It doesn't matter if you sit at your computer all day with free time attempting to create. It's an organic process that can't really be forced.

It didn't help the she was thinking about Chloe. Most Saturdays were now spent together so it was weird to be alone in the house with nothing to do. Beca was angry at Chloe for this. It hadn't been a problem before she met her.

She wasn't going to give in though. After having fought with Chloe for this free time for a good part of Friday, she couldn't show her face at the other girl's apartment.

Nope.

Never.

Now to figure out how to kill the rest of the day.

She could watch some of her shows. The only problem is that Chloe had introduced her to most of them and they were at a certain point in each of the shows and the redhead was sure to be mad if she skipped ahead.

She could browse the web.

She could listen to music.

She could...

"This is pathetic," Beca declared into the empty apartment.

Grabbing her keys and laptop. She locked the door and made her way down the stairs and onto the street. There, she briskly walked. Chloe was going to rub her face in it and the sooner she got through it, the better.

A common misconception about introverts is that they prefer to be alone. This is not the case. Introverts enjoy their time alone but it is not a supplement for the company of others. If introverts truly wished to be so completely isolated, what is the point of them making friends? Of them marrying?

Apparently it was a misconception that even Beca had fallen victim to.

Vibration in her pocket alerted her about halfway to her destination.

Chloe was calling. Beca picked up.

"Hey, Beca."

"Hi."

"Could you come over?" she asked.

The brunette became concerned. "Why? Is something wrong?"

There was a pause. "No, could you come though?"

"Sure."

She hung up. Her pace quickened. There was nothing strange about how quickly she had been willing to agree to Chloe's request. It felt natural.

Everything about the current situation should have been scaring her. There had never been a time in her life where the presence of someone else was needed so badly that she was willing to walk to that person's home. In a sense, Beca was becoming less independent. Looking at it from a technical standpoint, it was making her a less able person. Yet, she was happy. She needed someone and it felt good.

Once she was at the apartment building, she raced up the stairs, uninterested in waiting for the elevator, to Chloe's door. She knocked on the door and waited.

Chloe opened the door moments later.

"Hey," she said.

"Hi."

"How'd you get here so quickly?"

"I was already on my way here when you called," Beca said, not really caring how it sounded.

"Oh."

Stepping aside, the redhead let her in before shutting the door behind her.

Getting settled, Beca turned to Chloe. "What did you want me over for?" She asked.

"Nothing. Is that ok?"

She nodded. "Yeah, that's fine." She then sat on the couch. "I'm gonna work on my music."

Chloe went over to her work desk and picked up a book and a pen. Walking back over to the couch, she seated herself next to Beca.

"I'm gonna work on my writing," Chloe said.

As Beca began work, she glanced to her side to find the other girl smiling. She didn't have long to ponder on the development as her creativity returned.

She had travelled a good distance with her laptop in order to do the same thing she was doing in her own home. Chloe had been mid-sentence when she began writing again. She had invited Beca here and continued to do what she was doing before.

Despite this, Beca was content. She returned her focus back to the music, for once uninterested in answering why and just enjoying it.

It's a unique feeling to know that someone truly likes you. To know that someone else on the planet can look at you and think that spending time with you is enjoyable. The idea sounds crazy to you because you know all the bad things about yourself that other people don't get to see. You worry that you've become so good at hiding it that the other person doesn't see them. You worry that they won't like you just as much as you don't like yourself.

The truth is, when someone truly likes you. They see you for who you are, in a way you never could.

Thanks for reading!

So I already mentioned this to some of the reviewers but I'll address it here as well. I know I promised drama at the end of the last chapter but that was based on the plan for this fic which was written back in May. Looking at it now, I'm not really all that happy with it so I've changed it and that's why there isn't any drama in this chapter. I felt bad about promising something so I felt an explanation was necessary.

Thanks to until its gone, CherryFlavouredPoison, wolveswithoutteeth, UnicornBitch, Joshifer4Everlark, bechlau, NWrightKing, lyrolulu592, CapAmerica21 and justmagda for their reviews.

Thanks to all those that Favorited and Followed the fic.

You guys are all awesome.

As usual, the chapter specific cover images should be on my tumblr now.