It was the highest number of reviews for a non-finale chapter I've ever had. And I would never really mind if I end up having only 3 or 5 people reading, but this is just so overwhelming. This must be how romeothewriter and awriterofthings feel like...
BeChloeFan01: Thanks for your help, love. :)
Crabapplekid89: That's what I thought as well. LOL. Nonetheless, it was a very good suggestion.
NightmareWalker, iamtitaniuuum, oilzz and stuff: Anything could happen. Really.
charliepollock1357, Guest (Mar 6), Theblackfriend1, lucakutya: I should have warned everybody that the update would take longer than the usual.
airdr12, Mogget0607, cxcxcx386: Welcome to my twists! :)
avidreader: Thanks, dear.
KissKendrick: First of all, thanks for the multiple reviews! :) And a friendly reminder: brace yourself for this chapter.
ItsLazyGurl: I am truly in love with your review.
Moxain: Admit it, you do enjoy the worst freaking cliffhanger. LOL.
itsmefiebs: I was like "You go girl" when I was writing that part with Aubrey and her dad.
RobOverstreet: Still haven't figured a way out of that triangle.
crazybeautifulme: Thanks for leaving a review. Well, we'll explore all their reactions.
shifter boy: I appreciate the suggestion, but it would have been a totally different direction from what I was aiming for. It's just not the kind of reaction from Chloe that I had envisioned. Ben will stick around, I'm sorry. And I'll add the story on my list. I'm not reading any other fanfic right now since I'm pretty busy in school.
Rennie Laroche: Wow. Pressure.
Yan: Uh... I'm pretty sure that was Beca, dear.
brittanysnodes: No, I didn't have much fun. I could barely breathe actually. But yes, I had a line similar to that in my head. LOL. To tell you the truth, when I was starting to form the sequel, that cliffhanger was the highlight in my mental blueprint.
Melanocortin1, madness2013: It's a roller coaster ride, so we'll see...
Natali1798, fullasincerity, Cfoxsharp, ShesArmed, Jon, asdfg, Guest (Mar 5):We've all been waiting for that moment, haven't we? :)
MysticFalls94: I just never thought I could actually pull off that much of reviews. Usually, I only get that number during last chapters. LOL. It's a pleasant surprise for me, and it's so awesome!
FilipinoBlood: Writing the endings are so stressful, trust me. #GoT
PurpleWedding: I'm so sorry I had to put you through that distress.
aianne26: It's nice to see you here! :)
CHAPTER SEVEN: Reunion
Was it the best thing to could have done in the midst of the situation – run away without offering even the least of all explanations and simply escape from the ghosts of the past in order to preserve the dark shadows in the background? The mighty Phoenix, in an unusual portrait of a frightened creature, paced her apartment waiting and anticipating for the worst of the worsts to arrive. She knew. They would never let it slide even though it was essentially the remaining hours of her mother's birthday. They would detain Ronie, bombard her with endless questions, and possibly despise her for even agreeing to keep the secret. It almost felt too cruel to leave her behind with the rest of them.
The horrible monster sat down on the bed, the only furniture aside from the small dresser decorating her apartment, and reminded herself to breathe. Cynthia-Rose. She had to call Cynthia-Rose and inform her about what happened. She would know what to do. She could fix this problem. Therefore, Beca decided to dial the emergency number on her communication device, but the plan was already too late to be executed; a set of loud knocks was heard through the door. It must be Ronie who came to check on her – she was the only one who knew this address – so almost in automatic, the mighty Phoenix tossed the electronic device on the bed and dashed towards the door. She pulled it open only to freeze in place when she came face-to-face with the one and only Chloe Beale.
Chloe stood right there outside the apartment unit at past eleven in the evening, two feet away from the love of her life whom she thought had been long burned-to-ashes-and-buried-in-an-urn-inside-a-metal-casket-six-feet-under-the-ground dead; only a sheet of invisible barrier in between them in such close parameter. She was wordless yet her presence, her stillness, her overflowing emotions - they were all spelling out the most meaningful verses at this very moment. She was angry, apparently. However, she didn't shout out her resentment like most normal people would. Instead, her tears stained her angelic face as she simply stood right there and stared at the beauty she had thought she would never see again. She harshly wiped the tears away for a poor attempt at fierceness, but an inevitable blink triggered another downpour of waterfall, yet still, she didn't say a single word leaving the other clueless about what was about to unfold. So indeed, Chloe Beale was the worst of the worsts that the mighty Phoenix could have anticipated to come knocking on her door.
Then like a bolt of lightning, Beca received a hard slap across her face. Frankly, it was a relief because if Chloe stood there for infinity without doing anything at all, the horrible monster would die dreadfully wondering what was going on in that brain. She had just barely composed herself when another slap came in. The mighty Phoenix didn't even bother to rub the surface or try to at least ease the pain. She deserved it. As a matter of fact, she deserved more than that. Chloe should have brought a cheese grater to skin the monster off then tie her to a tree using a barbed wire and cut her into half with a butter knife in the slowest and most agonizing possible manner.
"You're alive," she eventually spoke in her softest voice that her former bodyguard had ever heard from her.
Beca, however, merely directed her dark blue orbs towards the pair of bright blue eyes soaking in tears and opted to stay in her most promising state of a very quiet cricket. It was somehow a security blanket; anything she would say at this point could and would be used against her.
"You're alive," repeated the other, louder and firmer than the previous as if she was pronouncing the gospel and it was very important that Beca would understand the essence of it.
Still, the horrible monster chose to be a very quiet cricket which was more than infuriating.
"I thought you were dead and you don't know how much it hurt me," Chloe admitted in a string of whisper. Fine, she would do the talking. Her heart was going to burst out if she didn't try to get it all out of her system anyway. "I honestly thought the roller coaster ride was the worst thing to happen… until I lost you, Beca. It's like losing everything I've ever had. So if you have any idea how it feels like to get hit by a train for a hundred times over, fall off from the very peak of the Burj Khalifa, have all your arms and legs chop off, then you should know that none of those could ever describe even the slightest pain I've felt when I thought you're forever gone."
Was it really that bad?
"I spent one whole year and forty days wishing I could wake up next to you in my bed, but you were never there. One whole year and forty nights I cried myself to sleep because I asked for you and you never came. All those times I was hurting and crying and waiting and wishing… I just needed you to be with me… until it finally sink in that maybe they're right, maybe you really are gone. Maybe I'm just foolishly waiting for someone who's never coming back. Then suddenly, you're here like everything is just a freaking game of hide and seek! Now you're ripping my heart all over again. You're driving me insane all over again. And I'm supposed to hate you for all those things! God knows I want to hate you, Beca… for lying to me, for hiding away, for making me feel so naïve and miserable all those times, but-"
She abruptly stopped herself, sharply breathing out a sigh. She then wiped off the tears streaming down her cheeks once more and threw her hands in the air briefly in aggravation because yeah, she was supposed to hate this woman. She had all the right to hate her!
"But as I stand here right now in front of you, I realize that all I really want to say is… I love you so so much, Beca. And no matter what, it's always going to come right back to that."
One more look at the love of her life before the young heiress lowered her head in torment. After all, you couldn't break a broken person. Chloe managed to repair herself when she agreed to embrace the big fat lie fed to her. Then here came the truth – the fact that twice in this lifetime so far, Beca intentionally chose to leave her without even bothering to state the reason why – leaving the fragile redhead absolutely heartbroken all over again. So yes, one could not really break a broken person; one could only fix her. And one was named Beca Mitchell.
The very quiet cricket crossed the invisible barrier, stepped out of her own cage straight into the wilderness, left the sanctuary that was pure isolation with the motive of eroding the two-foot distance between her and the worst of the worsts she could be with this evening. She was never really such an expert when it came to words, but this was something that couldn't be fairly mended with the use of them. Thus, still speechless, she reached for Chloe's hand and pulled it all the way up to her cheek, finding haven upon the connection, inhaling the scent of sweet vanilla, and then softly kissed the palm of Chloe's hand until she realized it was a little too selfish. So she turned towards the broken one, reached for her angelic face, gently wiped the tears with her thumbs revealing in clarity the pair of spellbinding bright blue eyes. God, they were still the single most wonderful paradise that Beca could ever find. They were still so mesmerizing and pacifying she could feel herself falling in love with the redheaded monster for the second time around.
Like a magnetic attraction, the mighty Phoenix was inescapably absorbed… leaning in… closer and closer… slowly… parting her own lips slightly… until they had finally touched Chloe's. It was a kiss worth one whole year and forty days and nights and beyond. That kiss; it was both rough and gentle, a burning sensation to the body yet a cool breeze to the soul, a split second that could miraculously last forever. It was nothing but the definitive vindication.
It didn't take too long for things to take its toll. Beca had hauled her unexpected guest into the room sealing them both away from the rest of the cruel world while the redheaded monster stripped the stupid black leather jacket off, both kicked their shoes in urgency, all of which certainly unwanted in this most anticipated reunion. The notorious brunette pinned the precious heiress against the wooden door, brushing their lips, launching a ferocious tongue war wherein nobody apparently wanted to lose. Chloe subsequently moaned in Beca's mouth, pushing her knees against the other's inner thigh, her entire being responding to the full rush of voluptuous sensation vibrating across her spine.
Keeping Chloe's delicate hand tightly secured on one side, the mighty Phoenix moved her lips to kiss the redhead's cheek, her jaw, the side of her neck while the other hand quietly wander from her shoulder down to her chest, to her side, her buttocks until it ultimately found the hem of the pink summer dress, hiking it up, her cold strong hand memorizing the feeling of silky smooth skin which led to the cottony material of Chloe's underwear, playing it with her fingers, the urge to easily yank it all away due to overwhelming desire was just around the corner. However, the other had already turned them over, surprisingly stealing utmost control and dominance in this lascivious act of love. Boy was the callous female Casanova got turned on even more.
This time, Chloe had pulled the black shirt over Beca's head. This time, Chloe had Beca's arms locked against the door. This time, it was Chloe who was sucking on Beca's pulse, biting on her skin aiming for the combination of pain and pleasure in effect, causing the callous creature to involuntarily throw her head back in sensual delight, gasping loudly for air. The redheaded monster trailed steamy kisses starting at the brunette's stern shoulder down to the valley between her breasts and all the way to her incredibly toned abs. Chloe planted more raving kisses as she pressed herself against the opposite body then licking Beca's earlobe, the canal became its runway, her eardrum like a cherry-flavored lollipop – the sound of raspy moans and groans signaled just how good it felt. God, that mind-blowing feeling.
That's it. Beca just couldn't contain the drive anymore. She pushed the fragile redhead to the nearby wall with a thud, Chloe tried to fight back and regain the ball, but the cold-blooded beast had quickly crashed her lips onto hers – one sugary kiss, hard and wet – then holding on to the redhead's breasts through the thin fabric of the pink summer dress, kneading them into her own liking. The least that Chloe could do was to reach for the Phoenix's pants, pulling the lower body closer, unbuttoning and unzipping the piece of clothing until she could touch for anything she possibly could in there. But Beca was already way ahead – a hand was already snaking down below, greeting an old friend for good measure before plunging two fingers into Chloe's opening, perfectly curled up inside the way she remembered her old girlfriend would submit in full consent, sliding them in and out in a constant speed that increased as time ticked by, leaving the redhead completely out of breath.
Pool of dilated blues collided in one loving gaze. From there, everything just felt even better; Chloe's senses concentrated to the sexual motion stirring in her core, swallowing hard, panting, searching for refuge on the wall, her hips bucked forward… She was close, almost there. But no, the brunette just wouldn't let that happen yet. Beca dropped down to her knees, her hands smoothly slid down on either sides dragging along the pair of panties underneath the dress. She gave one long lick over the masterpiece she had partially crafted and Chloe's shaky foot rose against the other's arm, responding.
But seriously, it was kind of unfair that Beca had already fast forwarded her game when she still even had her pants on. Her black bra came off sooner much to the other's enjoyment, and it was immediately followed by the pink summer dress and Chloe's own bra on the floor. The young heiress initiated the quick undisturbed trip to the bed, pushing the mighty Phoenix down creating a minor bounce, leaning forward teasingly that Beca could only grasp the strands of red hair with her fingertips. The redheaded monster jerked the stupid tight black pants away and tossed it someplace else where it wouldn't be much of a burden any longer, so was the only remaining piece of clothing on Beca's body. She then threw that long-lasting piercing look before planting ghostly kisses on the brunette's foot, her inner thighs, moving north towards the center of the universe, dipping her tongue into the rapture, performing that blissful choreography while her hands reached for the rest of the feast. The mighty Phoenix couldn't help but whimper in pleasure, clutching on the bed sheets to cope with the intense level of ecstasy. It was the perfect revenge for the redheaded monster so that when it was nearing the climax, she recoiled with a sinister smirk on her lips. Crawling up, she locked Beca in between her legs, her eyes fixed on the annoyed look before her. The other propped herself up to meet the worst of the worsts half-way through, setting her on top, feeling the wetness against the skin on her stomach.
"How are you feeling, cricket?" asked the redhead in that sultry voice running out of breath directly into Beca's ear while the other nibbled on her collarbone.
For a moment, Chloe thought she still wouldn't get an answer until the other slowly looked up to meet her gaze with softened eyes that rarely appeared on her image, a hand upon the back of Chloe's neck, and muttered her first words to the redhead since over a year ago, "Nothing."
"Liar," the young heiress giggled adorably in accusation – sexy – then cupped Beca's face with both hands, pecking on her lips.
"But I thought you already knew that," claimed the notorious brunette before deepening the kiss that was soon converted into another battle of tongues. She glided the redhead a little more to the south right where she needed her to be, and Chloe began to sway her hips in a slow pace at first when the communication device completely forgotten in the midst of the occasion began beeping noisily.
"Don't," the redhead begged, trying to smooch the love of her life.
Beca, however, was already pulling away, a hand frenziedly searching for the device buried somewhere on the bed sheets. Stupid thing, where the hell was it? It must be Cynthia-Rose and it must be something important. Hence, the call must be answered ASAP. Chloe's face had swiftly fallen into a frown when the mighty Phoenix had ignored her plea and went on to grab the electronic device just a few inches to the left. Unexpectedly though, the horrible monster turned the device off with grave intolerance then threw it out of the window surely wrecking it into pieces. Stupid, stupid fucking thing!
"What?" she innocently inquired when she saw the baffled image on the angelic face. "I'm yours all night, babe."
Bit by bit, Chloe's lips curved into a sneer, endearingly biting her lower lip at the pleasant surprise. Funny how one whole year and forty days and nights of torture had been absolutely overlooked in just a single night with the mighty Phoenix – no questions asked! She didn't fight back when they flipped over, submitted instead to Beca's wants and needs, and yearned that 'all night' would last a thousand lifetimes.
"Swanson, the door!"
Jesse whined like a baby and dumped his face on the pillow as soon as the thick Australia accent coming from the kitchen (of course) rocked his sleepy soul. Why did he have to do it? They put him on watch all night while they all went to sleep! The only thing he needed at this point was a considerable amount of sleep.
Ding dong.
"Get up and get the fucking door, Padawan!"
"A Padawan I am not!" he shouted back but nobody really paid attention to his complaint. So defeated, he dragged himself away from Ronie's couch to open the front door that wouldn't shut up.
Aubrey's supercilious aura was the first thing he saw in this particular morning, and he didn't get any form of greeting along with it. The young heiress simply waltzed into the house then towed him along to the kitchen to join the rest of the group. Must sleep on the couch, he longingly wished in his mind.
"Chloe didn't go home last night," she reported promptly, sitting on the chair next to Fat Amy while the sleepyhead sat at the opposite side next to Stan. "I went to her house before coming over, and nada. She's set to attend an event today, so Kimmy Jin is not happy."
"If only she brought her phone along with her and didn't leave her car behind," Fat Amy supposed. It would have been easier to track down Chloe through the marvels of GPS. The Australian blonde spread Nutella all over her waffle then placed small slices of banana on top and another piece of waffle to complete the bun. Perfect meal. She offered some to the other blonde, but thankfully, she declined with a judgmental cringe.
Jesse turned to his friends, rubbing his eyes wearily. "There's no way she could find Beca if that's what she's trying to do here… 'cause clearly, the mighty Phoenix doesn't want to be found otherwise she wouldn't play dead for a very long time."
"You think?" his fellow IT expert unleashed the sarcasm this early in the day.
"I still can't believe you didn't tell us," Stan spoke from out of the blue directing the upset portrait in his eyes towards his own mother. "Didn't you think I deserved to know, mom? I was mopping for an entire year over the impression that my sister is already dead. Turned out she's still pretty much alive, and you knew about it all along."
"It was Beca's decision," explained Ronie. "She just couldn't turn her back on The Society."
"The last time she made a decision concerning The Secret Society and then got you involved, it almost killed you! Don't you remember that?"
"Stan, your sister's no longer thirteen! She knows what she's doing this time!"
Okay, voices were rising. Boy, this was uncomfortable for the rest of the group.
"So let's just wait for her to fix everything with her brilliant plan, is that it?" Stan retorted, leaning back to his chair with arms folded over his chest, his biceps silently exposed in a sleeveless undershirt gracing the blondes' breakfast meal.
"It was for everybody's sake!" exclaimed the brunette.
"Have you seen Chloe all those times, mom?"
"Yeah," Aubrey blurt out her thoughts a little too loud than necessary. "I'm so going to murder that stupid little Phoenix."
Maintaining her unyielding gaze towards the young Mitchell, Ronie admitted, "I know she was a mess, and you have no idea how many times I almost told her the truth. I wanted to. But I just couldn't."
"You could have told me!" her son insisted. "It's my job to protect my sister!"
"And it's my job to protect both of you!" she ultimately pointed it out. Damn, kids just never get it! "All of you… Do you honestly think, Stan, that Beca simply shoved the plan into my brain and I approved just like that? All I wanted when she showed up in my house the night after we all thought she was already burned to death is for this family to reunite once and for all. But it'll come with a price. You may not understand this right now, but playing dead keeps your sister alive. Playing dead keeps every one of us here safe… So yeah, I lied. I hurt all of you by omission. And I'm sorry for that. But I'll never be sorry that I did it because I wanted to protect you."
Ding dong.
Jesse was about to take his first sip of coffee when the doorbell rang once more. He looked around him to see everyone else was preoccupied with something. No, he certainly didn't want to stand in between that intense staring contest between the mother and son. Yes, he was scared of Aubrey Posen. And Fat Amy seemed to be sending the signal already. So what the hell! He let out a defeated sigh, dragged himself to the front door, to greet whoever was on the other side.
"Cynthia-Rose," gasped the IT expert in disbelief.
"J-Jesse," the old Phoenix was able to respond. The great debate whether to stay or escape had been instigated inside her mental consciousness. Fine, running away would be too suspicious. So she'd stay indeed. "Yo, I came to visit-"
But Ronie's voice didn't let her finish the sentence, "No need for an alibi, CR. He already knows. They already know."
"They?" the newly-arrived guest questioned as she followed the voice to the kitchen where she was immediately met with a group of disheartened friends. Oh, they. For a second thought, she should have just run away. But since it was already too late for that, she took a deep breath to prepare herself for what was about to come next. "Okay, fire away, people."
As expected, everybody except from the Chief Directress erupted into a screaming chorus. The questions and rants poured out all at once like raging water in an ocean. Frankly, the collective words failed to make sense, the sentences submerged in the noise. Nevertheless, CR understood their messages very well.
"It's actually very simple," she started with a loud voice, shutting them all up. "Bumper knew that Beca would be the only remaining threat to the Syndicate's plans. He would stop at nothing to put her down and the rest of The Secret Society. The strategy is to convince him that she's already dead, so he'd no longer pay attention hunting her and in the process, the team could work behind his back. Now if Beca has been able to convince her own family and friends that she's already dead, why wouldn't it convince her enemy?"
"So the treasure-hunting is still on?" inquired Stan just to make it clear which she responded with an unfortunate nod. "I'm in."
"We're in!" the pair of IT experts declared in unison, so did the Posen heiress.
"Hold your horses!" CR held up her hands in apprehension, shaking her head at the idea. "I don't think the Head Phoenix will agree. Beca will totally kill me!"
"Oh I'll kill her first thing," swore Aubrey. "Where on earth is she anyway?"
CR shrugged her shoulders, "I was wondering the same thing. She didn't show up at Pandemonium last night, and-"
"Pandemonium?" Stan cut her off with a surprised expression. Of course he didn't know about it yet too making Fat Amy and Jesse exchanged quick looks before acting all so perfectly innocent. It wouldn't be a good idea to get on his bad side.
"Long story," was all the other could offer at the moment. "For now, we need to find Beca. I've been trying to contact her since last night but… there's a good chance that she broke her communication device. We have tons of things to do. It's not like her to waste time, isn't it? So the only rational place I could think of is… here."
"Chloe's missing too," supplied the blonde heiress.
And it was all Cynthia-Rose needed to know to get the picture of trouble they were about to feasibly encounter. Shit. No, not Chloe again. The kryptonite could possibly ruin the brilliant plan. Over a year of hard work could all go to waste because of her.
"Ronie," she turned to the brunette. "Don't tell me…"
"Come on, they need it!" Ronie reasoned out. "Beca made a choice and Chloe's moved on, I know. But they still need to talk."
The rest focused on the conversation with great interest. "You mean they're together right now?"
"They're not having sex right now… right?" Aubrey had to put her worries out, rubbing her temples to prevent the occurrence of a severe headache. Oh the mental image!
"Give me the address, Ronie," CR demanded in the most polite manner.
The mother answered with a firm, "No."
"Please."
"I am not giving anybody the address! Each one of you has only seen half of the picture, but I've seen them both! And I'm sick of watching two miserable people longing for each other when they should be together, alright? So if any of you want to find either or both of them, you are free to wait!"
She posted an authoritative look, her guests startled by the sudden outburst of emotion. They had never seen this side of the typically playful old woman. Talk about awkward. Nonetheless, they all nodded in agreement and the waiting in silence had officially begun. Pleased by the way things had concluded, Ronie turned around to hide her true facial expression, walking over to the coffee maker.
"Wow, I can't believe that actually worked," she secretly mumbled to herself in amazement.
Maybe it was the feeling of being watched or the sound of quiet steady breaths, or maybe both; Chloe slowly opened her eyes awake to see a pair of dark blue orbs glued on her.
"Good morning," whispered the brunette in her normally emotionless voice.
And the young heiress couldn't help but smile. That was the deal, right? If Beca would really insist, she would have to greet her lady boss as cheerful as possible upon waking up in the morning. Still not cheerful yet ridiculously cute. This had to be the best way to wake up – both lying on the side, still stark-naked, just staring at each other lovingly like it was everything that mattered in the planet. It felt like a dream.
Suddenly alarmed at the idea, Chloe placed a finger right upon Beca's forehead moving it down across her nose line, tracing her lips then her jawline… touched the strands of dark brown hair… looked at the nude landscape under the sheets…
"What are you doing?" asked the mighty Phoenix, curious.
"I'm making sure this time you're real," was the truthful answer, and she sounded adorably childlike.
"Of course, I'm real. You practically… devour me the whole time and now you're uncertain whether or not I'm real? Something's really wrong with you, woman."
"And you still love me?"
"Yes."
Very good answer. Okay, that one warranted a kiss.
"What did the lawyer name his daughter?" Beca tossed a joke in the spur of the moment.
The young heiress giggled as she replied, "What?"
"Sue."
And the giggles were soon replaced by loud chuckles. "That's your worst."
"But you're still laughing," the horrible monster stated, even suppressing a small smile herself in amusement. "So that means you still love me?"
"Yes."
Fine, another kiss for that. This time, it was deeper, more passionate, and lasted longer than necessary. Funny how moments like this no matter how silly it was could transcend the happiest of emotions. They could honestly live together in this bed for eternity.
"It was you, wasn't it?" Chloe asked in a murmur, her breath blending with Beca's as she spoke. "You're… the ghost."
"I needed to hear your voice," answered the other frankly.
"I could hear you breathing, you know."
"And it didn't creep you out? I was afraid you'd stop answering the calls."
"I died when I thought you were. Those calls made me feel otherwise. Believe it or not, Beca, I've lived in those moments."
The quiet cricket stared at her for a minute or so until she decided to respond with a sweet and gentle and romantic kiss they had already mastered creating that small smile on the redhead's lips. Perfect treat for breakfast… and the fact that Beca was climbing on top once more, hormones spontaneously flaring up, not even for a second withdrew her lips away from Chloe's pair of strawberry-flavored ones.
"You know," the young heiress reflexively moaned when the brunette sucked and squeezed her breasts. "I-I just… remembered… I-I have an appointment today… My… EA… m-must be-"
Beca licked the redhead's flat stomach then briefly glanced at those bright blue eyes. "Stay."
"Kimmy Jin's gonna kill you," Chloe warned yet her hands raked the wave of dark brown locks.
With lips nipping every inch of sensitive skin as she moved further down, the other mumbled, "She thinks I'm already dead so… win-win."
"Beca…" it was supposed to be a protest, but the air caught up in Chloe's throat made it sound more like an irked go-ahead.
So just when the party was getting more fun, for the secondary purpose of annoying the redhead, the horrible monster cut it short and crawled back up to stare at the angelic face. She would have been a lot easier to read if only her image wasn't that much of a blank canvass.
"Do me a favor… Could you be so selfish and stay? Just one day when nothing else mattered… only you and me. Give me until sunset, that'll be enough. Could you do that, Chloe?"
"I'd do anything for you," replied the other in all honesty.
So Beca smiled a little. But it was different. It looked genuinely happy, but not fully. It didn't look so sad, but a hint of it. Unfortunately, Chloe didn't have the chance to clarify because then the mighty Phoenix kissed her again. One thing led to another then…
"What's up, dude?"
Clarence looked up from his paper works to witness the presence of Bumper Allen at his office door with Paul and Gail carefully guarding him from behind. His only company was a signature devilish sneer on his face. How could he have the guts to enter an old enemy's lair all by himself? This must be some kind of a lure.
"I come in peace," the young man guaranteed.
The rich man welcomed his visitor with a dirty look. "What do you want, Bumper?"
"The treasure," the Head Syndic didn't beat around the bush. "That's what I want."
"I already told you, I don't know where it is."
"Yes," Bumper nodded his head nonchalantly as he walked over to the chair to take a seat. Paul attentively followed the casual actions with his eyes and stood by the opposite side. "But I'm thinking about the possibility that Benji Applebaum left you with some clues."
"If I have them, what makes you think I'm going to share them with you?"
The visitor let out some chuckles then critically looked around the room. "You know, this is not how I pictured Clarence Beale's office. It's a little too… trifling, I guess. Oh wait! You've been demoted. Yeah, I heard that."
"What are you going getting at?" Clarence questioned.
The Head Syndic shrugged in pretentious innocence. "Dude! Your insignificance in this corporation is tragically growing… unless you could be powerful again. To achieve that, you'd need more resources. I, too, need more resources. So I thought… why don't we help each other out? Let's go find the treasure, split it afterwards."
"Get out," was the rejecting response.
The other took it as a compliment though, smiling even more, because behind the resilient façade, Bumper could comprehend a room for deliberation.
"Call me when you've made a decision," he placed an old phone on the table then stood up, ready to leave. "Don't even consider about getting the police involve, dude. You don't want them to know how we're acquainted, do you?"
He gave the businessman one last look, momentarily glanced at the former Syndic in a black suit then ultimately left. Bumper was right. Clarence Beale was making a mental deliberation.
"No, sir," Paul's voice got into his head. "Don't strike a deal with the devil again."
But it might be the only way to save the corporation, the only way to get his precious daughter return to his team.
Years and years of training triggered the mighty Phoenix to seize the hand by the wrist right before it could even land upon her face. She shut her eyes open expecting to find an enemy, but it was only her favorite redhead.
"I'm sorry," she apologized immediately releasing the hand from her violent grip.
"It's okay," smiled the young heiress. She was already dressed and had Beca's used garments for laundry. "We missed the sunset and we haven't eaten anything all day. I could cook something but your fridge is a pile of ice cold beers, so... go take a shower and we'll dine out?"
The brunette got out of bed, approached the dresser in Commando, and Chloe couldn't help but stare at the length of her bare back – the magnificent phoenix tattoo blemished by a few burnt scars on the left side, a small reminder of the past. Defiantly, Beca put on some fresh clothes signaling that she didn't intend to go anywhere else. Still on mute, she walked back to the redhead to claim the laundry, primarily her jacket to check the essential old renaissance key. It's still there. The mission was still there.
"Something wrong?" inquired Chloe.
Surprisingly, the brunette merely offered a blank stare. It was a stretch of emptiness, but somehow it made the other feel a little worried. She could read something out of it.
"Talk to me."
But Beca wouldn't.
"I know that face, cricket."
Still, wordless.
"Say something!" the redhead pleaded in distress.
The mighty Phoenix, loud and clear, bravely spoke, "I don't want to be with you anymore."
"What?" was all the redhead could come up with. She didn't get a response, unfortunately. And it didn't help that her stupid brain couldn't process the statement. Was it a joke? "I spent more than a year waiting for you when I didn't even know you're still alive. Now that you're back… that's what you tell me?"
Beca's poker face glared back at her. God, how could she be this heartless!
"So what's the…?" Chloe's voice cracked as she started to tear up. "Why did we even…? You asked me to… God, I can't even…! I-I don't understand, Beca!"
"You'd do anything for me, right? What I need you to do, Chloe… is to stay out of my life."
That's it? Just like that, it's over? Why the fuck was this horrible monster so good at toying her emotions? One moment, she was fixing a broken heart then the next thing you know, she was ripping it apart. Again.
"Goodbye, Chloe."
She was seriously sending her away! And Chloe knew she was supposed to contest. She wasn't supposed to let Beca win this time. But it felt like the mighty Phoenix had already built a great big immovable and impenetrable wall between them making her even more impossible to be reached. So, helpless and crying for the millionth time, Chloe turned around to proceed towards the door. The trip felt like walking on a tightrope although either way, she already felt dead.
"Why?" she interrogated as soon as she reached the exit. This time she needed to know the reason, and she wasn't going to take a silent treatment for an answer. She'd wait no matter how long it'd take.
Fortunately for Beca, she only had Chloe's back as an audience. The redhead missed the sorrow upon the tough image. She would only hear the cold and unaffected tone when the beast answered, "Because I woke up and realized... I just don't want to be with you anymore. Not ever."
Perhaps, the mighty Phoenix was still the best liar in town because the other bit the bait, and that was the most painful thing one could ever take in straight from the person they loved. Chloe could literally feel her heart choking to death. No, she wouldn't give the horrible monster the pleasure of witnessing her downfall! Hence, she hurriedly pulled the door open only to halt when a certain brunette was standing right in front of her, startled, her fist poised supposedly to knock on the wooden barrier.
"I-I'm sorry," the friendly neighbor glanced at the crying stranger then looked over at Beca. "I notice your car's parked all day, oddly, so I thought I'd check on you. I assumed you're dead."
Much to her shock, the redhead rudely derided before storming off. What the hell was this woman's problem, the brunette wondered. Well, if Beca would have bothered to inform, the problem was the friendly neighbor had the face of Stacie Conrad.
Now before you all go "You should fucking rot in hell" on me, let me just say that I literally cried writing the end of this chapter. I personally felt the rejection.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pitch Perfect.