"Twelve stitches? Twelve?"

The shrill yell was audible even through the noise cancelling headphones that Beca was wearing. She sucked a breath in, saving her current mix before wandering down the stairs to see what the drama was about.

"Chlo, it's fine…"

"Don't defend them Cynthia Rose! You are on heavy medication with twelve stitches in your head! This is unacceptable!"

Beca scanned the room. Most of the Bellas were packed into the living room, watching in awkward silence as Chloe addressed Emily and Stacie. She placed a hand on Chloe's shoulder, trying to break Chloe's attention enough to end the tirade. Her hand was shrugged off almost immediately as Chloe rounded on her. Beca held her hands up, "Chloe… CR has…"

"No! Beca! They need to understand…"

"Chloe! Stop." She reached up, putting a hand across Chloe's mouth, "Let me deal with it… Em, Stacie, you… Look, we don't… I mean, like, if you guys are… a thing, that's cool. It's totally cool, but it needs… You can't bring all of that into a Bellas rehearsal."

"Beca! Cynthia Rose has twelve fucking stitches!"

"Chloe!" Beca sighed, and wrapped her fingers around Chloe's wrist. She noticed Chloe's eyes soften a little, "Guys, just… Chloe clearly needs a break…" Beca glared as Chloe opened her mouth to argue, "Try not to kill each other while we're gone. You, get your ass in my car. Go!"

Chloe turned on her heel and stormed out the front door, leaving an embarrassed Stacie and Emily to help CR into an armchair. "Sorry Becs," Stacie mumbled.

"Not me you gotta apologise to," Beca answered with a tight smile. She patted Emily's shoulder, "Don't cry, dude… Chloe is like a blood hound. She smells fear. Also, blueberry pancakes at six thirty and you'll be forgiven in no time. Trust me."

Fifteen minutes and one very secretive stop later, Beca pulled the car onto a heavily wooded dirt road. She noticed Chloe straighten in the passenger seat and glance curiously across the car. "Where…"

"Dude, chill out. I'm not bringing you out here to kill you…" Beca hissed at the slap that stung her arm, "Bitch, I'm navigating a dirt road!"

"Don't be an idiot then. Where are we going?" Chloe asked.

"Just… a place…" Beca focused on the road ahead. The sun had already set making the path difficult to navigate, even with the headlights beaming. "My place," she mumbled. She knew Chloe was still staring, waiting expectantly for an answer. "It's just… I found it after… ya know… when we had that fight… like first year? I come here sometimes."

That seemed plausible enough for Chloe, so she turned back in her seat.

Another five minutes and Beca pulled the car to a stop near a patch of trees, Chloe could just make out the aged wooden sign. Barden University Astronomy Centre.

Beca turned the car off and pulled the lever for the trunk, she always kept her basket fully stocked with snacks and a blanket, just in case she needed to get away for a night. She called Chloe over. "Can you grab the cushions from the back seat? Maybe the blanket too, it'll get chilly."

Beca watched Chloe disappear for a moment, reappearing as the trunk shut with a solid thud.

"Beca Mitchell, did you plan this?"

Beca blushed slightly, and was suddenly thankful that the moon was waning and the dim light was nowhere near bright enough to betray her. "Excuse me. I have this in here in case of emergencies… Like this one. Why do you think you've only witnessed one Beca Mitchell Breakdown since I found this place?"

"Hmm, all right. Lead the way," Chloe said. Beca nodded her head toward a narrow path leading away from the building.

"Be careful. I don't need two Bellas injured in one day. Step ups here," she said, slowing down. She let Chloe walk up ahead of her, relishing the sound that her friend made when she finally saw their destination.

The BU Astronomy Building was constructed in a small valley off campus, far enough away from the city lights for the Milky Way to be clearly visible in the sky above the clearing. The moon wasn't in view yet, still hidden behind the heavy tree cover around the hilltop.

"This is my special place, well… one of…" She gently placed the basket on the grass and spread the picnic blanket down. "Before I open the basket… I have one question."

Chloe turned to Beca, an awed expression still clearly etched across her features. She motioned for Beca to continue and sat cross legged on the sheet, tossing the pillows next to her.

"Do you want the full BM Breakdown experience?"

Beca watched Chloe's face carefully, there were so many expressions flitting back and forth that she had to look away. Finally, Chloe reached up and took Beca's hand, pulling her to the blanket.

"That's why we're here, right?" she said.

Beca grinned, "All right! Now we're talking." She reached into the picnic basket, pulling out the two bottles of wine that she'd bought earlier, "Ta da! They're screw tops so… and I had to buy some of those cheap plastic wine glasses… because most of the time I just drink from the bottle and I didn't know how you'd feel about that."

Beca smiled at the tiny giggle that escaped Chloe, "I was really hard on them, wasn't I?"

"Well, kinda… but CR ended up in hospital and has stitches… So a freak out was warranted. Maybe next time, try not to make Emily cry… She's my aca-baby…"
Beca cracked the top of one wine bottle, pouring some into the crappy cup she'd taken out of the basket. She held it out to Chloe, "Go on. We'll sleep here. If you think this is amazing, wait until sunrise."

Some time during their second bottle of wine, the girls had curled up under the spare blanket that Chloe had carried. They were staring up at the sky, Chloe's head tucked into Beca's shoulder as they swapped childhood stories. Chloe had just given her the story of her first date, a disastrous evening at the local bowling alley owned by the boy's parents.

"He thought he was so smooth… He even tried to help me bowl… I was junior girls champ in my age group!" she said, emphatically. "He had such a tantrum when I beat him..."

Beca looked down at her, "Best date ever?"

Chloe rolled onto her stomach, wrapping an arm around Beca's stomach. Beca wasn't sure if it was the wine that was making her stomach flutter. "That depends."

"On what?"

Chloe grinned coyly, "It depends on whether or not you have the lady balls to actually call this a date and kiss me."

Normally bravery wasn't Beca's strong suit, but there was something about Chloe that brought out the best in her. She leaned forward, ignoring the niggling sensation in her stomach and kissed Chloe softly. "Second best date ever?"