Chapter 4-A New Day

Beca woke up early in the morning. It wasn't quite dawn, the sky was beginning to lighten, and she could just begin to see the sunrise over the mountains in the east. She glanced at her cell phone..and the time was 5:42a.m. She couldn't believe how awake she was this early in the morning. She was usually never awake before 9:00a.m. during her summer breaks. Deciding to start her day, she grabbed her shower kit and headed down the hill. The sunrise was beautiful, and she had to admit, this camp had its charm. The lake even reflected with sunlight. She felt herself at peace for the first time in a long while, and started to sing. As she rounded the corner of the shower building, she entered, turned on her shower, and she continued her song.

Bulltproof..

nothing to lose,

fire away...fire away...

So lost in the moment, she didn't realize that someone else had entered the showers.

"Wow, you really can sing"..said the red-head.

"Dude...what?" Shrieked Beca.

"How high does your belt go?" said Chloe, moving closer to Beca, having no concern with their close proximity or their lack of attire.

"Um, I didn't hear you come in, and I'm not quite done." Beca said hoping she would back away, as she was starting to feel a bit dizzy.

"You were singing Titanium..right?" As usual, Chloe completely disregarded other people's need for personal space.

This distracted Beca and slowed her sudden panic, "You know David Guetta?"

"Yeah, what...do I live under a rock? That song's my jam...My lady-jam" she said with a wink. "The song really builds you know"

"Uh, that's nice" Beca said, not really picking up on her meaning.

"Will you sing it for me?" Chloe asked with a somewhat seductive smile, and Beca suddenly got what Chloe meant about a Lady Jam.

"Gross..Dude.. No"

"Not for that reason silly" Chloe said. "I'm not leaving until you do..." and she feigned a yawn. Beca seeing she had no intention to retreat, gave in.

I'm Bulltproof..

nothing to lose,

fire away...fire away...

Chloe joined in, a third higher octave harmonizing in perfect pitch, and Beca let a smile flash her way.

Richocet, you take your aim

fire away...fire away

shoot me down, but I won't fall

I am Titanium,

shoot me down but I won't fall

I am Titanium.

Their voices matching perfectly echoed for a moment around the shower stall. Beca smiled genuinely before bringing her mind back to their very close and very nude proximity. She desperately tried not to look at Chloe, but temptation got the better of her, and she quickly glanced down, not knowing why she felt the urge. Chloe caught the indiscretion and warmed immediately, then tried to put Beca at ease.

"Yeah, I'm kinda confident about all this" she gestured to her body.

"You should be" Beca couldn't believe she said it, it just came out. What was happening to her?

Chloe just smiled brightly at the comment. Beca seemed so adorable, she couldn't help but want to be close to her. She quickly turned to hand Beca her robe, as she could sense Beca was tense about being so exposed in front of her.

Smiling one last time, Chloe turned and began her own shower in the opposite stall.

Beca, feeling very ready to leave the situation as her panic began to build again, grabbed her shower kit and quickly made her exit.

Chloe noticed her movement, and called over her shoulder "See you later"

Beca put on her robe and headed back up the hill to try to lose herself in her music.

After breakfast, Beca went to her activity room to inventory her equipment. Her room was on the far corner of the lower camp classrooms. The building was a renovation of a large barn, and her room had actually been part of the Farm owners horse stables before the property was turned into a camp. The floor was old barn wood, and incredibly beautiful for its age. Large windows now decorated the outside walls, which allowed her room to have an expansive view of the lake. The natural light was incredible. There were 5 workstations for two kids each to share. Each workstation was home to an iMac, not the newest model, but still a great computer for mixing and building music.

Beca began to power each computer on, and checked all the available software programs. Garage Band only she thought to herself. Well they definitely needed to upgrade to Logic if any serious musicians were attending, but she could tackle that later.

Beca sat at her personal workstation, and brought out her laptop. She immediately focused on her lesson plans for the summer. She had worked for about an hour when she heard a knock at her door.

Suddenly she heard a familiar voice. "Hey..Becaw" and in the door popped her friend Jessie.

"What the hell? Dude, what are you doing here?" a surprised Beca said as she jumped up from her desk.

"Well I couldn't let you brave the mountains on your own, short-stack" he quipped, and closed the distance to his best friend. He would have loved to hug Beca in that moment, but knowing she was not comfortable with physical contact, he opted for their trade mark fist bump instead. Jessie knew he would always love Beca as more than a friend, but she had made it clear that she was not interested in anything more with him, and he valued their friendship far too much to push her.

"I'm on staff with the Treblemakers, so I guess we'll be seeing each other quite a bit"

"Really? But I was told that the boy's side of the camp was off-limits" Beca said with a smirk.

"Hmm, I hadn't heard that. I do know that we'll all be seeing each other tonight at the Riff-Off"

"What the hell is a Riff-Off?"

"A little friendly camp competition. From what I understand there is a bit of a rivalry between the guys and the Bellas"

"Great." Beca said sarcastically.

"C'mon Becs, it'll be fun."

"Yeah, for you geek boy. You love all the campy bonding stuff. Anyway, when did you decide to do this? Last I heard you were planning to work at the Movie Theatre all summer." She really did feel better knowing Jessie was close. He had been a great friend during her parents divorce two years ago. She knew he felt more for her, but to her he was more like a brother now. She was glad when he finally accepted their friendship and didn't push her for more.

"I called the camp as soon as you told me you were coming, but they didn't have an open position for me. I thought it was a done deal, but then Bumper called me last week and said one of his Activity Leaders bailed, so he needed a fast replacement. I signed the contract that day"

"Really, and you've kept quiet all this time, that's a record for you Swanson"

"Yeah, yeah, well like I said, I couldn't let you brave the wilderness alone. So, when you need me, I'm just across the lake and up the other hill..my tent name is High C"

"Good to know. Whose Bumper? Is that like a camp name or something?"

"Sure, don't you guys have camp names over here?"

"Yeah, I don't think so, and if we do, I'm outta here"

"Becs, you have to join in and have fun with it, remember it's all for the kids" he said with a pout.

"Fine, but if someone starts calling me Ladybug or Grasshopper, I can't promise I won't take a swing."

"Calm down there Hillary Swank from Million Dollar Baby"

"You know, you can just say..Calm down there Million Dollar Baby, I would get the reference without you naming the specific actress"

"Damn..camp has made you cold Becs"

"Yeah, Well I guess I'm just uncomfortable being surrounded by all this cheer, it clogs my normal dark aura." she smirked at her friend.

"Ok, I'll see you tonight, right?

"Do I have a choice?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Probably not." he said.

"Then I'll see you tonight Swanson."

She watched Jessie run down the hill and out of sight. She really was happy to have him so close, it would make the summer so much more bearable.

She returned to her desk, only to be interrupted by another knock.

"Hey Beca" The bright-eyed red-head popped her head in the doorway. "You ready to head down to our staff meeting?"

"Sure Chloe, I'm just finishing up."

"I'll wait, and we can walk together" Chloe said leaning against the doorway and watching the cute little brunette straighten her desk and file away her lesson plans.

"Listen, about this morning, I hope you are ok." Chloe said.

"Sure, why wouldn't I be" the brunette answered.

"Well, I couldn't help but feel like you dashed out of there, and I didn't want you to feel uncomfortable around me just because you saw me naked"

"No..." she gasped holding her hand to her chest. "Why would I...I mean it's completely normal to take a shower with someone you just met, right." She gave her famous wink.

Chloe giggled. "Ok you're right, I just got so excited when I heard your singing, I couldn't help myself." She flashed the most genuine smile Beca had ever seen, her eyes twinkling, and Beca felt her knees give slightly. Her face went pale, and the pounding of her heart echoed in her ears.

"Oh no" is all she got out before..black.

When Beca regained consciousness, she was slumped on the hardwood floor, and Chloe was waving her hand above her.

"Beca, are you ok?" The red-head said softly, with a tear streaming down her face.

"I'm fine, are you ok?

Chloe laughed at her response. "I'm fine, you just scared me" she said helping Beca sit up. Quickly wiping the stray tears from her face. She leaned in close to put an arm around the younger girl.

"I'm so sorry Chloe, I kinda do that sometimes." Beca said, trying to regain her composure and trying not to freak out at the arm draped around her, holding her close. Why did this girl have such an effect on her.

"You mean, this happens often?

"No, not often, just when I get overwhelmed, my body just overreacts." she gave a slight smile, she moved slightly away, wanting to put a little distance between them.

Chloe sensing her shift, stood up and offered Beca a hand to stand up.

Beca looked up into the gorgeous eyes, and felt dizzy again.

"Yeah, maybe not yet" she said, not wanting to catch her gaze again or touch her, keeping her head down.

Chloe looked at the poor girl and went to get her some water from the water cooler station in the hall.

"Here you go, sip this, it should help" offering a small dixie cup of liquid.

"Thanks."

"Beca, can I ask what just happened that had you so overwhelmed?'

Beca didn't know how to respond. What could she say..Chloe you are so amazingly beautiful that you literally knocked me off my feet...no I think that would be a bad confession..she thought to herself, quickly trying to find an answer.

"Uh, It must be the altitude or something, and the new environment..maybe I'm literally allergic to the outdoors." She tried to joke her way out of the question.

"Ok." Chloe knew that Beca was avoiding the question, so she didn't push. She couldn't help but be concerned, and tried to remember how Beca looked just before passing out. She could tell her expression changed right before it happened, and her face went very pale. She made a mental note to watch Beca for such signs in the future.

"Beca..I just want you to know that you can always talk to me, I really meant it when I said that we were going to be fast friends. I've made up my mind, so you have no choice in the matter." She moved forward and captured the younger girl in a tight embrace. Chloe's heart filled at that moment.