A/N: Okay, I was severely lacking in inspiration for this chapter. I 'm fine when I actually write it but I never feel actually inspired to write it. That is not a 'it's going on a hiatus' message. It isn't, I just am having trouble wanting to write it but it isn't stopping me from writing it. So here it is. I hope you enjoy it and let me know what you think.

So on with the next chapter...

Chapter 26

She stood up and started to nod.

"Okay." She finally relented, then she turned and started to climb over the logs and walk away. Jesse took the hint and followed her. When they were a suitable distance away so no one could eavesdrop she stopped and turned to him. "Talk." She ordered.

"Where should I start?" He asked at a loss of what to say now she was actually giving him a chance, he had been so focused on getting her to forgive him he hadn't thought of what he would actually say to her.

"How about when you realised you were happier when I wasn't in your life." She kept her voice even and cold.

"I didn't. That song, it wasn't..."

"It wasn't what?"

"I didn't mean it now."

"So when did you mean it?" Her tone still cold.

"During the war. I just thought maybe... I don't know. But at graduation and then for the next 7 years I realised I was wrong. I didn't want you gone, it didn't make me happy. I wasn't better off without you." He stumbled over his words as he started to explain.

"Then why did you sing it?" She heard her own voice break a little at the end and fought to keep her composure. She wasn't going to lose it in front of him this time.

"I don't know, I was mad at you. The moment I saw your face I knew it was a mistake that I had gone too far but it was too late to stop it. Then you wouldn't let me explain."

"So, what? You wanted to get back at me?" She was confused but she managed to keep her voice from breaking this time.

"I'm so sorry Beca, I didn't mean it, not really. I just didn't think. Please Beca, forgive me." He was practically begging now.

"I don't know. I just, I don't understand. Why? Why would you... I just, I don't know." She was getting tangled in her own words. Emotion breaking though her voice as she at last stopped trying to hold it back.

"Beca, I'm sorry." He almost breathed out as he walked over to her and folded his arms around her. She allowed herself to relax into his arms. She was struggling to stand anyway but she cursed her body for how it naturally relaxed at his touch. "Do you think we can still work it out?" He asked her the one question she was sure, just minutes ago, his own answer would have been no to. Suddenly when faced with the question herself she wasn't sure how to respond. For so long she had known the answer to be yes, part of her knew it still was, but she didn't know if she trusted him anymore. Not after this, after he intentionally hurt her. He admitted it was a mistake but he didn't deny his intention in singing that song.

"I thought I did, for so long I thought I did." She started.

"If you changed your mind Beca let me know, I need to know if I have to try and move on, not that I'll have much success but I'll try."

"Part of me thinks I can't trust you after this, the other part of me knows I want to work it out. That that's all I want. But I don't know if I can get over the first part." She explained, not making any attempt to move from his arms.

"Can't we at least try?"

"Honestly, I don't think we could do anything else if we tried." She felt him laugh a little at her response.

"So that's a yes?"

"That's a yes." He squeezed her tighter against him.

"I'm glad."

"It's ironic that you went too far this time, It was always the Bellas." She whispered as she remembered their worst act.

Fourth Year at Barden

Beca hadn't exactly been involved in the planning but she had been aware of it and she had been present. It had and hadn't gone to plan. The prank was in theory simple enough. Actually acting out the prank, if this could even be called one, wasn't the problem. It was the potential ramifications of doing it. Last time was bad enough, someone could have gone to prison but the Trebles had managed to avert disaster. It had however meant that the Bellas had gotten tired of them doing to so often it seemed. So they had decided to do something the Trebles couldn't escape from. This one wasn't just a little dangerous and illegal, this one was bad. There was a old shed round the back of the Treble house, some of the Trebles liked to hang out in it sometimes when they wanted a break from the main house or, as used to be the case, Bumper. They planned to burn it down. Beca wasn't sure whose idea it had been but it wasn't her own. She had known she shouldn't have allowed it or gone along with it. She should have put a stop to it, or at least tried to stop it. She should have done something.

They had all agreed to it, some more reluctantly than others. Beca hadn't been the only one who was relieved when their last prank had failed yet somehow here they were ready to commit one so much worse. Beca had tried to distance herself from the details of this prank; she was nothing more than tagging along as a figurehead of sorts in her place as leader. They had waited until it was dark then crept out. After they reached the shed everything was a blur. One minute they had got to the shed and the next chaos ensued. Some Bellas had run back to get away others had stayed.

Beca watched as one of them, she couldn't make out who in the dark, set the fire. The shed slowly burst into flames. It spread quickly and Beca tried to recall whether someone had said something about covering it with, we something flammable, she couldn't remember what. That hadn't been what had caused some Bellas to flee and others to freeze. It had been the shouts they had heard. The shouts that had come from near the shed. From in the shed. Beca had been neither the first nor the last to unfreeze but as soon as she did she sprinted as fast as her small legs could carry her to the flaming shed. Along with another Bella she managed to get the door open before the flames over took it. Three Trebles stumbled out and some of the other Bellas that hadn't run had helped them away from the shed.

Beca felt sick. The feeling was worsened when she recognised one of the Trebles to be Benji, they had all only suffered minor burns but they were enough. The shed was supposed to be empty, no one was supposed to get hurt, that wasn't part of the plan. Almost immediately the rest of the Trebles poured out of their house and a short time later a fire truck arrived. The shed had collapsed by the time they arrived but they were still able to put the fire out. Many students from close by dorms had come outside to see what the commotion was about. Both the Trebles had the Bellas had told them it had been an accident, that no one know what had happened. Neither planned to stick with that story but that was a tale for the university, not the police.

Beca couldn't describe her relief when she saw that Jesse was not among the three in the shed, it was bad enough that Benji was, she managed to overwhelm the jealousy she felt when she saw the girl, his apparent girlfriend, come out of the Treble house with him with that feeling. Now was no time to be jealous. No fight had broken out between the Trebles and the Bellas that night. That didn't mean they didn't all know exactly what had happened. The moment Jesse had spotted her and their eyes had locked she saw a shadow cross his face as his eyes filled with understanding of what had happened, the look in his eyes after had forced her to look away. She prayed she would never see him direct a look like that at her again. Granted she had put his best friend's life in danger, she knew she deserved it but it didn't mean she could stand seeing that look directed at her again.

The next morning Beca had come down the stairs to see the Bellas preparing to put the blame on the Trebles, they hadn't had the chance. No sooner had they decided how they were going to do it were they called to a meeting with the university for the investigation. As it turned out that the Trebles had already put the blame on them. Whoever did it was going to be kicked out, but that would probably be the last of their problems.

They both shuddered at the memory.

"It's the biggest mistake we ever made."

"We forgave you for that one Beca, it was big and it took some time but we forgave you."

"I can't help thinking we didn't deserve it."

"Some of them probably didn't, but you did. You never meant to hurt anyone."

"I didn't try to stop it either."

"I doubt you could have done if you had tried."

"Maybe, but I didn't even try."

"Hey, it was 7 years ago Beca, we can't change the past, isn't that what you keep saying?"

"I know, but I don't feel any less guilty about it. Benji was right. Somehow he was always hurt in all of our pranks."

"He understood, he still does."

"That's the problem, he always understands. That's what always makes it so much worse."

"Trust me, I know. I've been on the receiving end of Benji's understanding."

"What did you do?"

"That's a story for another time."

"You just don't want to tell me."

"I'll tell you when you tell me about that dream."

"Another time it is. We should get back, it looks like everyone has packed everything up, they're waiting for us." Jesse laughed again as she did as he predicted she would and avoided. He released her and repositioned himself to help her walk.

Once everything was packed and evenly distributed between the healthy members of the group, injured people included, they set off for the bus. It was fortunate that some of them had been to fetch things from the bus the previous night as many of them had no clue how to get back to the bus. Jesse supported Beca as they headed back to the bus. They may have only been fighting for about half a day but it felt like years and she couldn't find words to describe how good it felt that they were back on good terms. She couldn't begin to imagine how she would feel if she had to be away from him for another 7 years, or another 10 if she had to wait for another reunion.

They found the bus exactly as they had left it. No one was there waiting for them.

"Chloe," Beca turned to the girl walking beside her. "I thought you said they would realise we were missing and would come and get us."

"They will, I'm almost sure."

"Almost?" Beca was feeling less confident by the second.

"Well, it's not so much that they won't come that they don't exactly know which route we took, there was a detour." She explained hesitantly.

"So we could be here another night?"

"That's highly unlikely Beca." Chloe assured her. Beca found it strangely uncomforting.

"But it's a possibility?"

"Come on Beca, go against your nature; be an optimist." Jesse teased. She promptly elbowed him in the ribs. "Hey, I'm the one practically carrying you, I might drop you if you keep doing that."

"I can stand on my own, it's not my fault you're holding he so tightly that you're taking all my weight." She countered.

"Yeah, well, for a while there I didn't think I'd ever get another chance to. I don't want to let you go now I've got you back."

"You hadn't exactly lost me yet you know."

"I know, but I nearly did."

"Aww. You guys are adorable." Chloe interrupted them. Beca was about to respond, she hated being called cute or adorable or any synonyms of, when Chloe cut her off before she could. "Look, that looks like another bus!" She shouted over the top of all the noise as she pointed to a moving vehicle on the road that was slowly coming closer. They were finally getting out of here, she hoped.

Right, I hope you enjoyed it. I know I have updated my other story more often then this, it may happen again but I'm not writing that instead of this, I'm just writing it when I would be doing things like reading or school work but it's not replacing my writing time for this. I'm just more inspired with that one at the moment. Now I have justified that to myself, I hope you enjoyed it, let me know what you think, If you want any songs to appear in past chapters let me know or for them to sing in their last finals in the flashbacks let me know. As I said, I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you think, and I can actually ask you for reviews without feeling guilty now as I have finally reviewed to a story, and discovered why I hadn't before (if that person is reading this I apologise, I went a little crazy) anyway, let me know what you think and see you in the next chapter. (*smiles*)