Guest prompt: Another secret Santa where Chloe gets Beca a gift but she has to compete with Jesse to see who gets Beca the better gift, aka who gets Beca's heart.

Not really a secret Santa story but as close as I could get it to make it work.


"Thank you so much," Chloe gushed. "Beca is going to be so excited about this."

Chloe rushes out to her car and gets in. She squeals because she just scored the best gift ever for her best friend/longtime crush, Beca Effin' Mitchell. She starts the car and makes the hour long drive with a huge smile on her face, singing along to every song that came on the radio.

Chloe parks her car in front of the Bellas house and turns it off. She sits there for a minute and looks out the window and her smile falters. There's Beca with Jesse. She watches as Beca gives Jesse a hug and goes into the house. Jesse is grinning that stupid boyish grin that everyone thinks is so endearing. Yuck is all Chloe can think. Chloe sits there lost in her thoughts when a knock on her window startles her. She turns to see Jesse grinning at her.

"Sorry," Jesse says. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Chloe gathers her stuff from the passenger seat as Jesse opens the door for her.

"Such a gentleman," Chloe says with a fake smile.

Chloe gets out of the car and Jesse closes the door.

"I'm glad I caught you," Jesse said. "I wanted to talk about Beca's Christmas present."

"What about it?," Chloe asked.

"I know you'll be getting her a gift," Jesse said. "Being her best friend and all. I just wanted to tell you to not even try to outdo my gift. She's going to be blown away by it."

"You know she doesn't like movies, right?," Chloe asked with a frown.

"How'd you know that I got-," Jesse said. "Never mind. That's just something she says. She'll love it."

"No, Jesse, she won't," Chloe said starting to walk toward the house.

"Yes, she will," Jesse said frowning. "I know, Beca. And I know she'll love that I didn't get her just one movie. I got her the collector's set. It cost quite a bit, but she's worth it."

"I hate to say it," Chloe said. "But, you wasted your money. Beca won't care how much you spent on the gift."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Jesse said getting a little angry.

"Okay, whatever," Chloe said as she reached the front door and stood on the porch facing Jesse.

"You think you know her better than I do?," Jesse said.

"Yeah, I do," Chloe said. "I know her well enough to know not to buy her a movie she'll never willingly watch."

"So, you think whatever you get her will be better than my gift for her?," Jesse asked.

"I already have her gift," Chloe said smugly. "And I know it's better than your gift, because it's not a movie."

"We'll let the gifts speak for themselves," Jesse said. "We'll let Beca decide whose gift is better."

"No," Chloe said. "I'm not going to make her choose between us. Our gifts."

"Why?," Jesse asked. "Afraid I'm right."

"You really want to do this?," Chloe said. "Okay, fine. But just so you know, I like Beca. A lot. I've never made a move or said anything because she was with you. But, now, the gloves come off. I'm not only going to give her the better gift, one that she'll actually like, but I'm going to tell her how I feel about her and make her my girlfriend as well."

Jesse stood there with his mouth hanging open, dumbfounded.

"I always knew you had a thing for her," Jesse said. "She kept telling me it was all in my mind. That you were just good friends. You won't win because she loves me. But it'll be fun watching you crash and burn."

"We'll see about that," Chloe said and went inside, slamming the door in Jesse's face.

Chloe hurried upstairs and into her room. She was fuming. How could she let Jesse get to her like that.

"He's going to tell Beca what I said," Chloe thought as she paced back and forth. "And then he'll win before I even get a chance to tell her how I feel about her. Shit!"

Chloe raced out of her room and went to Beca's. She knocked on the door and heard Beca tell her to come in. Beca was in her usual spot at her desk with her headphones around her neck.

"Hey, Beca," Chloe said as she sat on Beca's bed.

"Hey, Chlo," Beca said looking at her. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah," Chloe said playing with the pillow. "Everything's fine."

"Want to try that again?," Beca said. "Only this time, try telling me the truth. Hey, Chlo. Everything okay?"

"I just kind of had an argument with Jesse," Chloe said. "I didn't mean to, but he just kept pushing my buttons and it's really stupid."

"Trust me, you don't have to explain it to me," Beca said. "I know exactly how he is."

"I'm sorry," Chloe said with a tear in her eye. "He'll probably tell you all about it and I'm sure I won't come off looking too good."

"Don't worry about it," Beca said. "We haven't really been talking a lot lately. Things have been somewhat strained between us."

"All the more reason why he'll tell you about it," Chloe said. "It'll make him look good, and me look bad."

Chloe got up and started walking toward the door.

"I'll see you later," she said and went back to her room.

Beca thought about following Chloe, but decided she might need some time to herself. God knows, she does after dealing with Jesse.

Chloe was sitting in her room, debating on telling Beca what exactly had been said between her and Jesse. If she tells her, it may ruin their friendship. But, if Jesse tells her, it may ruin their friendship. Chloe's phone rang and she checked the caller ID.

"Hey, Brey," she said answering the call.

"Hey, Chlo," Aubrey said. "Are you okay? You don't sound like yourself."

"I messed up," Chloe said.

"What happened?," Aubrey asked. "No, don't say anything. Tell me when I get there."

"You're coming here?," Chloe said perking up.

"I should be there soon," Aubrey said. "I wanted to surprise you."

"I can't wait to see you," Chloe said.

"We'll talk when I get there," Aubrey said.

"Thank you," Chloe said and ended the call.

Jesse had gone back to his dorm. He was angry that he let Chloe get to him like that. He always knew that she and Beca had a different kind of friendship. He also felt like Chloe wanted them to be something more than friends, and she had just confirmed his suspicions. He thought about telling Beca, guaranteeing that he would win her heart. Or, he could tell Beca and he'd find out she felt the same way about Chloe.

He knows Beca will love the Christmas gift he got her. Things had been a little tense between them lately but that's because she had so much going on right now. Once she got into a more set routine, things would be good between them again. He wasn't going to tell Beca about his conversation with Chloe. He knew that Chloe would be devastated when Beca chose him and his gift over her, so he decided to be the bigger person and let it go.

It was the day of the Bellas/Trebles Christmas Celebration and the girls were busy getting things ready because it was being held at the Bellas House this year. Chloe and Stacie were in the kitchen making hors d'ouevres, CR and Denise were moving the furniture around to provide optimum dancing room, Jessica and Ashley had made a snack and liquor run, and others were setting everything up. Beca wasn't home yet from her DJ shift at the radio station. Amy was entertaining the girls by doing some kind of 'Celtic Christmas Dance.' She pulled off one wild step and fell into the tree, knocking it over and scattering presents everywhere. Everyone came running to see what had happened. After the initial shock of seeing the tree laying on its side and gifts scattered around the room, the girls all pitched in to set things right. Chloe helped Stacie right the three and put the ornaments back on.

"I smell something burning," CR said.

"Oh, shoot, the meatballs," Chloe yelled as she ran into the kitchen.

"Hey, some of the tags and cards came off the gifts," Denise said as she helped collect them all.

"We'll just have to put the ones we know for sure, like our own, on," CR said. "We'll let everyone else sort theirs out later."

"Okay," Denise said and everyone did the best they could.

There were a couple no one could figure out so they just stuck the cards on top of whatever present was closest and let them get sorted out later. They continued what they were doing and then it was time to get ready. Chloe went to her room and showered. She changed into her white skinny jeans with her favorite 'ugly Christmas sweater' since that was the theme of their party.

Everyone was ready and helping to bring out the food and get the drinks started when the doorbell rang.

"The Trebles are here," Amy shouted and ran to answer the door.

The party was in full swing and it was time to open presents. Amy was designated gift distributor and everyone settled around to get and open their gifts. Chloe looked over at Jesse sitting next to Beca. He had his arm around her waist and gave Chloe a smug smile. Chloe just rolled her eyes at him.

"I am actually beginning to hate Jesse," Chloe whispered to Aubrey.

"Don't worry," Aubrey said. "Your gift for Beca is going to blow her away. He won't know what hit him when she gushes over it in front of everyone."

"I hope you're right," Chloe said. "I need a drink. Want to come with me?"

"Sure," Aubrey said and they made their way through the group and went into the kitchen.

"Okay," Amy said grabbing a gift. "This one is for Beca."

Beca took it and opened the card attached.

"It's from Jesse," Beca said and started opening the present.

Jesse looked at the gift with furrowed brows. That's not his present.

"Oh, my God, Jesse," Beca screamed. "This is amazing. How did you get these."

Beca was wrapping her arms around Jesse and giving him a very passionate kiss when Chloe and Aubrey walked back into the living room. Chloe's heart dropped and she stood frozen in the doorway. Beca pulled back from the kiss and looked back down at her gift.

"I can't believe you got me these," Beca said with a tear in her eye.

"Care to share what it is with the rest of the class," CR said.

Chloe looked at the gift and then at Jesse. He looked back at her with a sheepish smile on his face.

"It's two tickets to the 'Jingle Ball'," Beca said. "And, two backstage passes to meet David Guetta."

Beca turned and grabbed Jesse's face and kissed him again. Chloe looked devastated and turned and ran up the stairs to her room. Aubrey shook her head at Jesse and ran after Chloe. Beca looked up when she heard heard someone stomping up the stairs.

"Was that Chloe?," Beca asked.

Aubrey went into Chloe's room and found the redhead sitting on her bed, hugging her pillow to her chest as tears fell down her face.

"Why didn't you say something?," Aubrey said. "Tell Beca that it was actually from you and not Jesse."

"Because she looked so happy that it was from him," Chloe murmured.

Aubrey didn't say anything. She just put her arm around her best friend and held her. Chloe put her head on Aubrey's shoulder and wiped away her tears. She felt as if she lost Beca without even having gotten her yet.

Downstairs Beca keeps looking at the stairs, checking to see if Chloe was coming back down. Jesse sat next to her and saw that she kept checking the stairs. He was feeling guilty. He knew that Chloe's gift was a much better choice for Beca than his and he wanted Beca for his own so badly, so he kept his mouth shut. The gift opening continued around them when Amy called out Beca's name again. Beca took the package and read the card.

"It's from Chloe," Beca said. "I'm going to wait for her to come back before I open it."

"Nope," Amy said. "Everyone knows the rule. If you are handed a present you must open it, whether the person who gave it to your is here or not. So, you have to open it."

"Give someone else a gift, Amy," Jesse said. "I'll go get Chloe and we can come back to Beca."

"Okay," Amy said. "We can bend the rules slightly for our Captain."

Jesse told Beca he'd be right back and ran upstairs. He knocked gently on Chloe's door and Aubrey answered.

"Um, can I speak to Chloe?," Jesse asked.

"I don't think she wants-"

"What do you want, Jesse?," Chloe asked pulling the door open wider. "Come to gloat?"

"No," Jesse said not looking at her. "Um, Beca wants you down there while she opens her other presents."

"Why didn't you say anything?," Chloe asked with tears in her eyes. "You knew that was my gift for her. Why did you let her think it was from you?"

Jesse swallowed and continued to look down at the floor.

"Because I knew you had won," Jesse said. "When she kissed me, I, I couldn't tell her. Because I knew if I did, I'd lose her."

Aubrey made a move toward Jesse and Chloe put her hand up to stop her.

"Why didn't you tell her?," Jesse asked.

"Because I'm not an asshole like you," Chloe said as she slammed the door in his face.

Beca jumped when she heard Chloe's door slam.

"I'm just gonna go," Beca said pointing towards the stairs.

Jesse was coming down before Beca made it to the stairs. She stopped and looked at him. She watched as he went over and picked up the gift she was waiting to open. He came back over to her.

"I need to talk to you," Jesse said.

Beca nodded and they went into the kitchen. Jesse laid the package on the counter and looked at Beca.

"What's going on, Jesse?," Beca asked. "Why did Chloe slam her door?"

"Open this," Jesse said pushing the gift closer to Beca.

"Jesse, I-"

"Just open the damned gift," Jesse said tersely.

Beca looked at Jesse and pulled the gift to her. She ripped open the wrapping and stared at the gift.

"Why would Chloe give me this?," Beca asked even more confused than she was before. "She knows I don't like movies."

"That's not from her," Jesse said quietly. "That was my gift for you."

"I don't understand," Beca said.

Jesse then told her of the conversation he and Chloe had about who knew Beca best. He also told her that the tickets were from Chloe and he didn't want to lose Beca so he didn't say anything when she thought it was from him.

"Are you fucking kidding me, right now?," Beca yelled.

She was so loud that everyone in the living room got quiet.

"I can't believe you," Beca continued yelling at Jesse.

Chloe and Aubrey both jumped up when Beca started yelling. They rushed out of the room and down the stairs to see what was going on. They stopped at the bottom when they noticed that everyone in the living room was quiet and staring with wide eyes toward the kitchen as Beca continued to yell.

"Beca, I'm sorry," Jesse said with a tear in his eye. "I just love you so much and I knew we were drifting apart. I didn't want to lose you."

"Get out," Beca said.

"Beca," Jesse said reaching for her.

Beca stepped out of his reach.

"How could you possibly think that I would like a bunch of Star Wars movies as a gift?," Beca said through her tears. "I've told you so many times that I hate movies and you continued to make me watch them. And I did, because you were my boyfriend and that's what a good girlfriend is supposed to do. But, you never tried to understand how much I loved music and how serious I am about being a music producer. When I saw the backstage passes to meet David Guetta, I thought you finally got it. But, it was all just a lie."

"Beca, please," Jesse said as a tear slipped down his cheek.

"Get out," Beca said. "I can't even look at you right now. We're through so just leave."

Beca pushed past him and walked out of the kitchen. Jesse leaned against the counter and let the tears fall. Beca stopped when she saw Chloe and Aubrey standing there. She walked over and stood in front of Chloe.

"Why didn't you say anthing?," Beca asked.

"I was going to," Chloe said. "But when I saw you kissing Jesse, it broke me and I couldn't. I thought that you had made your choice to stay with him and I didn't want to get in the way of that."

"Do you really have feelings for me?," Beca asked through her tears.

Chloe looked over Beca's shoulders at a devastated Jesse and felt sorry for him. She thought about what to say next.

"Jesse told me you told him you love me," Beca continued and Chloe's eyes shot to her face. "So, I'm going to ask you again. Do you have -"

"I do love you," Chloe said. "I've been in love with you for a while now."

"Why didn't you ever say anything?," Beca asked.

"Jesse," was all Chloe could say through her tears.

Beca looked back at Jesse. He hadn't moved from where she left him. She sighed and turned back around to look at Chloe.

"I haven't been very fair to either one of you," Beca said. "I knew I had strong feelings for you, but I stayed with Jesse because he was safe. I knew what to expect with him. And, I didn't think you would love me like I love you."

Chloe let out a sob. Beca loved her.

"So, what now?," Chloe asked.

"Stay here," Beca said and turned back to the kitchen.

Jesse looked up when Beca came back into the kitchen.

"I guess you heard all that?," Beca asked.

Jesse just nodded his head.

"I am sorry," Beca said. "I did love you, it just wasn't the way you wanted me to. I didn't mean to fall in love with my best friend. You have to believe that. It just happened. I'm sorry I didn't break it off with you when I realized that I was in love with her. I didn't want to hurt you and I didn't think it was more than a crush at first."

"I get it," Jesse said. "I'm sorry I wasn't enough for you."

"Jesse," Beca said. "It wasn't all bad. I think we will just be better as friends. Not right now, but we'll get there."

"Yeah," Jesse said a small smile showing through his tears. "I'm sorry I hurt you by lying. I guess I was just desperate."

"Not a good look on you, I must say," Beca said jokingly causing Jesse to emit a small laugh.

"I'm going to go now," Jesse said standing straight and wiping away his tears. "I have a feeling you want to kiss Chloe and I'm not sure I'm ready to see that."

"See, you know me better than you thought," Beca said with a teary grin.

Beca grabbed Jesse and gave him a big hug. Jesse hugged her back and walked out of the kitchen with Beca right behind him. He stopped at Chloe.

"I'm really sorry, Chloe," Jesse said. "I hope someday you can forgive me and we can be friends."

Chloe just nodded her head and watched as Jesse walked out the front door. She turned to find Beca standing in front of her with a small smile on her face.

"So, is it really bad of me to ask you to be my girlfriend right after I broke up with my boyfriend?," Beca asked.

"Only as bad as it is of me to say yes to being your girlfriend right after you broke up with your boyfriend," Chloe said.

"I'm going to kiss-"

Chloe pulled Beca into a kiss before she could even finish her sentence. They heard the Bellas, and even a few Trebles, give a little cheer. They pulled back from the kiss and leaned their foreheads together.

"Will you go to the Jingle Ball with me?," Beca asked.

"I thought you'd never ask," Chloe replied and kissed Beca again.


I want to thank everyone for their kind reviews. You guys/gals are the absolute best! I'm still working my way through them all, but writing a new chapter every day takes time. I will respond to all your reviews as quickly as I can, so bear with me.