AN: Hello, all. Sorry this took a bit (though not as long as the last chapter so there's that). I had some really personal things happen to me... I've been trying to get through that and all the shit that came with it. So that's what's mostly kept me. But here's chapter seven. (: I didn't really proofread this (What else is new?) Hopefully chapter eight won't take so long to get up. It's about to get super angst-y in here, folks. :P Let me know your thoughts. Reviews give me life.

Disclaimer: I don't own PP or the characters, blah blah blah

Chapter Seven

After Beca had picked Jonah up from Aubrey and Chloe's, something between all of them had shifted - something in Beca had shifted. How could she not have known? How had she been so fucking stupid? Of course. Of fucking course they were together. It was so blatantly obvious! And yet, Beca hadn't even noticed. But then, so what if they were together? What did it matter? It didn't affect Beca in any way… except that it did. It shouldn't, but it did.

The moment Beca had registered Chloe's words - put two and two together - she had felt the color drain from her face. She still remembered the feeling of her stomach sinking and the way her chest started to ache. The sad part was that she hadn't even realized it was happening, that she was falling. And now that she had hit the ground, the breath had been knocked out of her and she was still struggling to get it back. What was even worse was that… somehow, somewhere along the line, she had fallen for both of them. So everything seemed to hurt twice as much. Who does that? Who falls for two different people at the same time? It wouldn't have mattered anyway, because there was too much to factor in. She would have had to choose (she wasn't sure she could) and then of course, there was Jonah. This… This was for the best.

That was what she was going to keep telling herself, and she would try her damndest not to push them away, try not to close herself off… If only for Jonah. Of course it was hard. She had already started and it was noticeable. It was noticeable in a way that when she was around the Bellas, her smiles never quite reached her eyes, or how she would shoot down any invitation to hang out with Chloe and Aubrey either with all the Bellas or just the two of them. The only thing that didn't change was Beca's insistence that they change the set list, especially since their scoresheet from their previous performance had showed that they had almost lost to the Sockapellas.

Beca had even offered to show Aubrey what she had been working on, but Aubrey had shut it down really quick, which only served to frustrate (and surprisingly hurt) Beca more.

…

For days, Beca has been moping, barely able to even keep up a happy facade in front of Jonah, but as she she continues her trek across the quad (heading for the bus that will take her to semis), a familiar beat pulls her from her brooding thoughts.

Her song. Her song is playing on the radio. She practically rips her headphones from her ears and picks up her pace, running as fast as she can in heels to the station. She's only about a minute away, anyway.

She stumbles a few times but she manages to get into the building without falling, not stopping until she's tapping on the glass of the booth like a kid at an aquarium"Hey! This is my track! You're playing my song right now! That is awesome! You like it? You put it on the radio! That is amazing!"

Luke just smirks at her as he exits the booth. "It's a sick beat."

Jesse is quickly sidling up beside her and throwing an arm around her shoulder (When did he get here? He must have been in the stacks). "Yeah, I always thought her beats were pretty sick." He says, as if Beca had shown him more than the three she had (at his annoying insistence).

Luke seems to completely disregard Jesse altogether as he leans against the door and smiles at Beca. "Hey, Becky, listen spring break, I want you to take the night shift. Play your music. The DJ at the garage does a brilliant version of this, but yours? It's better."

Beca glances to the side, a bit uncomfortable with the praise, but at the same time, feeling proud. She holds back her excitement opens her mouth to speak, but only manages to nod. She'll have to rearrange her schedule and find someone to watch Jonah, but she has some time to figure it out.

"I'm gonna listen to her tonight. I think you should… You should come with." Luke continues, offering her a half smirk.

"Oh, I have a thing." Beca says automatically, not missing the smug look on Jesse's face and barely managing to suppress an eyeroll.

Luke raises a brow. "Flight attendant training?"

Beca glances down at her outfit and then back up."It's the Barden Bellas. I have semi-finals tonight."

"Really? I did not have you pegged as an a cappella girl." He says, brows raised in surprise.

Jesse gives Luke a smug smile as he speaks. "That's cause you don't know Becky like I do." He turns to Beca and grins. "See you tonight."

She nods and watches him walk off, presumably to get ready to leave with the Trebles. Beca sighs, allowing herself a moment to revel in the fact that one of her songs just played on the fucking radio. She grinned before turning on her heel and headed back out to meet the Bellas.

…

The bus ride there is pretty quiet - except for when Fat Amy manages to get hit with flying mexican food when they stop for gas. (Most of the Trebles, Beca has learned, are real fucking dicks.) And then of course, when Chloe randomly starts to sing and then the rest of the Bellas. She ignores them, eyes looking out the window until they all start to stare at her expectantly. "Ohmygod." She mumbles under her breath, trying to seem exasperated. But as they all pause and she looks over all of them, stopping once on Aubrey and then on Chloe, Beca realizes that she can't refuse them. Her heart stammers in her chest for a moment at those two looks and again, Beca rolls her eyes but this time she smiles as she does so, finally joining them in song.

...and then they run out of gas.

They end up having to ride with the Trebles, which is pretty tense and filled with jabs and insults, but Beca tunes most of it out, focussing on not focussing on how close Chloe is sitting next to her. They can't get there soon enough.

Apparently, though, the shit storm has just begun to brew. Because the Footnotes are amazing and the Trebles are always good. There was no fucking way they were going to beat both of them.

"A-ca-huddle, now. The top two teams go to the finals, so we just have to beat one of them." Aubrey starts, glancing between all of them. Beca holds back a sigh, because… there's no way. "And if we do it exactly how we rehearsed it, we will get there, okay? Exactly. Hands in." Aubrey stares pointedly at Fat Amy as she says this before she places her hand in.

As it turns out, it's Beca who goes off track, unable to take the blank stares from the audience and the Footnotes mocking them from the sidelines, she transitions into 'Bullet Proof' by La Roux. Aubrey manages to shoot her a glare and Amy fumbles a little, surprised, but Beca continues on, pleased that the audience starts to perk up.

It takes all of thirty seconds after they exit the stage, that Aubrey is pushing through the Bellas. "What the hell Beca? Were you trying to screw us up?"

Beca turns on her heel, facing her. "Are you serious?" She can feel her chest tightening and her jaw clenching as she mentally prepares herself for the verbal outlash she's about to receive.

"Newsflash. This isn't the Beca Show." Aubrey snaps angrily.

"Okay, I'm sorry that I messed you up, but in case you hadn't noticed, everybody pretty much dozed off during our set." Beca snaps back.

Aubrey crosses her arms and glares down angrily at Beca. "It's not your job to decide what we do and when we do it. Why don't you ask the rest of the group how they felt about your little improvisation?"

Beca falters a little, losing some of her fire. "Amy?"

Amy glances to the side, looking sheepish. "It was cool. But it did take us a little bit by surprise."

Aubrey gives Beca a pointed look. "Yeah, a lot by surprise."

Beca looks to Chloe who looks down at her feet. "Mmm, a little."

"I told you she wasn't a Bella." Aubrey says to Chloe.

And that's the moment Beca shuts down, taking a step back as if she's been slapped. She can't, she just can't anymore. Her throat tightens with the sting of tears and her heart constricts painfully in her chest.

Chloe shoots Aubrey a look before bringing her gaze back to Beca. "Aubrey, don't."

"No, that's okay." Beca starts, inwardly wincing at the way her voice quivers with unshed tears. She swallows, smirking ruefully at the redhead. "You don't have to pretend, you're allowed to have a say in the group, right?" She hates the hurt look that flashes across Chloe's face, but she can't help it.

Aubrey shoots her a death glare as she steps forward, pointing a finger at Beca. "Your attitude sucks. You're a grade-A pain in my ass, and I know you're hooking up with Jesse."

Just as Beca thinks it can't get any worse… "Whoa, whoa, Aubrey, calm down. We're not hooking up, I swear." Jesse says out of nowhere, hands raised slightly in an attempt to placate the blonde. Where the hell did he come from?

Beca swings around to face him, letting out a humorless laugh. "Jesus Christ! That's perfect. Of course you're here right now. I don't need your help, okay? Can you back off?" That's right, Beca. Lash out at all the people who actually give a shit about you. Push them all away. She looks back at Aubrey and Chloe, swallowing the knot in her throat. "If this is what I get for trying…" She turns and rushes down the hall, picking up her pace to a jog as Benji calls after her.

The tears fall fast and hard as she exits the building and stumbles down the stairs. She clings to the railing, sucking in oxygen like she's just surfaced from being thrown around by a massive wave. She can't breathe. But she can't stay here. Beca manages to pull herself together enough to walk down the sidewalk. She's not sure how long she walks, but she's still crying when she reaches a playground. It's empty, which is understandable since it's close to 10:30 at night. She walks numbly over to a picnic table and sits down, wrapping her arms tight around her middle.

'I told you she wasn't a Bella'
'Aubrey, don't.'

A new wave of tears start and before Beca knows it, she's hyperventilating. Black dots swim into her vision as she lets her head fall gently into her arms. Her eyes close and she tries to focus on remembering how to breathe. It takes a few moments and it hurts because all Beca can remember is the way that Aubrey and Chloe had helped her through one of these last time. But Beca manages to calm herself down until she's just staring blankly into the darkness, numb.

Eventually, Beca reaches into her pocket for her cell phone and calls her dad. He tries to ask questions, but Beca ignores them and he agrees to pick her up.

Two hours later, Beca sits in the passenger seat, head against the window.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" Her dad presses, albeit a little more gently than he normally would, seeming to take notice of his daughter's mental state.

Without moving or even blinking, Beca replies with a monotoned, "Nope."

Warren seems to accept this and puts the car in drive to take her home.

…

"Mommy, how come you so sad all the time?" Jonah sits at the island separating the kitchen from the living room, spooning fruity pebbles into his mouth.

Beca's head jerks up from looking down into the sink full of dishes. She looks over at Jonah, brows furrowed. "What? I'm not sad, buddy." She inwardly winces at the lie, plastering on what she hopes is a reassuring smile.

Jonah's spoon pauses in mid air as he levels a look at her. "I may be five, mommy, but I'm not stupid." He sets his spoon down and cross his arms. "You has sad eyes. All the time."

Beca sighs, but can't help but smile at her perceptive kid. "Mommy is just sad because she doesn't get to be a Bella anymore. But I'll be okay."

The little boy goes quiet, frown marring his features. "No more Bree and Chlo-Chlo? No more singing with the nice ladies?"

The constant ache that's been plaguing Beca's heart for two weeks now seems to worsen at the hurt look on her son's face. (And okay, maybe also at hearing their names.) She comes around the island and picks her son up, setting him on the counter so she can be eye level. "Listen, kiddo." She starts, biting on the inside of her cheek. "Something happened… Mommy messed up. So, she's not a Bella anymore and that means, no, no more Aubrey or Chloe or… or anyone. I'm sorry."

Jonah looks down sadly. "Oh." He says dejectedly, voice cracking with tears. Beca immediately wrapped her arms around the little boy, pulling him close to her chest. She could feel her own eyes start to well up, but she quickly blinked them back. Now was not the time.

"It'll be okay, baby." She murmurs softly, fingers running over his back. "We'll be okay. Eventually."