A/N: Hey guys, wow this chapter took a while. I blame Zap, though really it's more accurate that school and life rarely give me time to write anymore. If it makes anyone feel better it's really long to make up for being so slow in coming! Regardless, I hope you guys all enjoy it. I know I had fun writing it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think, it's the reviews which keep us writers coming back to write! Enjoy!
The Fallout
The rhythmic thuds of the bass beats were fairly muted as Beca sat in the office she had taken over for tonight's event. It was part of her pre-show routine, find a relatively quiet place and just sit and take in everything. She had found over the years that she'd been in LA that it helped her to calm down and get things under control. It helped her to find her balance before putting on her alter-ego persona and standing under the flashing lights of the DJ booth.
Except getting things under control and finding her calm was proving difficult tonight, and it didn't take a genius to figure out why. Beca still wasn't certain if she trusted Stacie, but she was trying… Trying to give the busty brunette the benefit of the doubt. They hadn't spoken since Beca had essentially hung up on her during her drive back from Serenity. In a way, Beca was actually glad for that. Stacie hadn't tried to reach out to her with explanations or excuses and Beca hadn't been interrupted as she got ready for the show.
It wasn't her first grand opening, but each time she'd helped to usher in a new club, a new temple to her guiding light of music in all its forms, Beca was a little nervous. She had never been able to explain it. It's just the way things were. So that's why she had always made it explicit in her contracts for these events that she be allowed the use of the most private, best soundproofed office in the club. It was generally that of the club owner or manager, but they were usually so happy to have DJ Ti.B playing their club that they would give up their first born daughters to her. Of course, some of them unknowingly had, but that's another topic to contemplate on another night.
Right now Beca was just sitting and looking at her laptop. It wasn't her newest laptop, or the fastest one she owned. But it was always the one she brought with her to club openings, and she normally took comfort in its presence with her. Tonight it seemed like it was mocking her.
Her set list had been prepared for a couple days now, and there weren't any crazy, last minute changes she needed to make to it. So she was just looking it over. Her weapons, if you would, in the war against the potentially bored masses waiting for her to ascend into the booth. And they were ready.
They weren't what was causing her to struggle so hard to find that calm place she normally liked to go to before she spun. Sighing she shut the lid of her laptop, knowing that everything was ready to go. That also brought into her line of sight one of the reminders of her lack of calm. If anyone else saw it, they'd just see what appeared to be the remnants of a sticker which had been torn, messily, off the lid of her laptop. She always saw the sticker, whole and intact, staring up at her challengingly in soft, baby blue.
An ornate letter B.
Beca ran her hand over the faded remnants of the sticker on the lid, trying very hard to keep the memories that the torn bits of paper summoned in her from overwhelming her. Despite her best efforts, though, a few leaked through. Her mind drifted back to when she'd first arrived in LA. She had been unpacking all of her stuff with her dad's help. She'd found a mislabeled box of kitchen stuff in with what she'd assumed was her DJ equipment and had taken it to the kitchen. When she came back, her dad was pulling her laptop, this very laptop, out of one of the boxes.
She had frozen in her tracks at the sight of the Barden Bellas B emblazoned on the lid. She had thought she'd left that at Barden, on her desk in her dorm. She had done it on purpose. The Bellas had left her behind. Left her alone. So she had wanted to do the same. With a choked voice she said, "Dad… Where'd… Where'd that come from?"
"Oh hey. I, uh, I found it while I was doing a final sweep of your dorm. Just trying to make sure you hadn't forgotten anything." Her dad answered, having glanced up at her voice. Looking back down at the laptop he smiled and patted it once before moving over to set it on her desk. Resting the tips of his fingers on the closed lid he added, "And it's a good thing I did, too, huh? You'd have been devastated to not have a laptop here to work on your music. You have to go out and become the next DJ Jazzy Jeff or something, right?"
The sheer ludicrousness of his statement floored Beca for a second and she stood with her mouth hanging open, just trying to process what he'd said. Of course, hearing him say it, she realized that in an odd way he was right. She couldn't very well become a DJ without the centerpiece of her equipment. Instead of saying anything she'd walked over to him and given him a hug. He'd been shocked, naturally, as Beca hadn't initiated physical contact with him in years. But he'd gotten over it fast enough and hugged her back.
He hadn't asked what it was about, he'd just let her go when she loosened her grip and they had gone back to unpacking. After he left, though, she'd come back from the airport and torn a large piece of the sticker off. But then, after seeing it sitting there, a half-mangled B on the surface of her laptop, the fury and hatred she'd felt had changed. Looking at what was left of the Barden Bellas sticker she realized that it wasn't going to be a source of anger, it was going to be a source of motivation.
From then on every track she mixed, every mashup she created, she'd done it to spite the remnants of the sticker that had told her she wasn't good enough, that she wasn't Bella material. And when she played her first gig, that laptop had again been the centerpiece of her gear.
Naturally in the years since she'd gotten faster, more powerful computers. And when she'd started working at the label they had bought her the latest and greatest equipment. But Beca had always, always kept this old laptop around. It was the thing that drove her most. Showing those few pieces of torn paper still clinging to the lid all these years later that she was someone, that she was good enough.
Her phone buzzed on the table beside her, startling her out of her reverie of the past and bringing her back to where she was. That was her five minute warning. It was time to get into character.
Standing, Beca walked over to the polished, sturdy wooden case that stood on a nearby table. Lovingly she ran her hands over the fine grain of the material, long ago worn smooth by her delicate caresses. Slipping her hands down over the front she deftly slid the clasps open and carefully lifted the lid. The dim lights of the room reflected brightly off the highly polished, silvery metal mask sitting inside the case.
This was the major piece of her persona. As much as she wanted to succeed to spite the Bellas, she also was adamant about them not recognizing her, not being able to reach out to her. She'd given them their chance to be part of her life. They had thrown it back in her face. Well, in an effort to ensure that never happened, Beca had taken steps to cover her face. As she had started to become known, to get a reputation in the DJ scene, her stage persona had been born.
DJ Ti.B.
DJ Titanium Beca.
It was weird, the way it had come to her. She hadn't listened to the song in a year. The song that had started her down this path. But she was starting to make a name, people were starting to come to her for gigs instead of the other way around. And Beca knew she needed to cover up, to protect herself. And what was stronger than titanium?
It did serve the dual purpose, she had also realized, of being another means to motivate herself. Both armor and motivator, wrapped into one.
When she'd started out, naturally the mask had been a simple covering. Just an old Phantom of the Opera style mask she'd seen at one of those odd little curiosity stores and had been drawn to. But as her name became more well-known, as her fame and fortune had increased, so had her mask.
Carefully she reached down and lifted the polished piece of titanium from its resting place inside the specially made case and pressed it against her face. With an almost ritual-like slowness she reached behind and tied the cords that would bind it to her until the end of her set. As the cool metal, insulated by the cloth lining which made it tolerable to wear for hours on end, contacted her skin, she felt her full persona settle over her as well.
She was DJ Ti.B, and she had a job to do.
After the mask was secured, Beca walked swiftly back to her laptop and opened the case. The machine, long ago and many times upgraded with newer hardware, woke instantly and she fired up the voice synthesizer program she always used to mask her voice. Reaching to the side she picked up the small microphone she'd wear for the gig and fastened it to the throat of her outfit and spoke her usual test phrase, "This one's for you, Bellas."
The modulated voice came from her speakers at the perfect volume, and Beca smiled. She was ready. It was time.
Consciousness came to Chloe like a bomb exploding inside her head. Added on to the pounding pain of her headache was the sharp, stabbing pain of sunlight that had lanced into her eyes when they'd popped open. A reflex she was sorely regretting right at that moment. In fact, for the first time since they'd moved into this place months ago, the redhead was sorely regretting picking the bedroom with the big, clear windows.
Groaning in agony, Chloe managed to roll over and shield her now closed eyes from the bright light streaming in through the aforementioned windows. As she did she jostled her nightstand and heard a clinking sound. She prayed to any god that would listen that it was what she hoped it was going to be.
After carefully shielding her eyes, the redhead cracked one open just enough to spot the large glass of water. Risking the pain, and the sudden swooping sensation inside her head and her stomach, Chloe rolled back towards the nightstand and with immense relief saw several small pills laying beside the water on top of a note. It was a note she'd seen before in very familiar handwriting that read:
"Future Chloe,
Swallow these, drink all the water, go back to sleep for a couple of hours. Bree will probably have pancakes waiting when you wake up.
Love Past Chloe."
Following the first two instructions, Chloe quickly tossed back the pills and drank half the glass in one go. Taking a quick pause to catch her breath she said, "I love you, Past Chloe. You are the absolute best." Before polishing off the last of the glass and complying with the third instruction.
True to Past Chloe's prediction, a couple hours later when the light coming through her window wasn't nearly as direct as it had been, Present Chloe woke to the smell of blueberry pancakes. It was that smell that drew her out of the comfort of her blankets and encouraged her to make her way downstairs. Halfway down the stairs she heard talking and soft laughter coming from the kitchen and thought she was able to identify the two voices she heard.
Rounding the corner into the kitchen she found her guesses were right as Stacie sat on one of the stools at the kitchen island working her way through a short stack of blueberry pancakes. The sight of coffee and more pancakes cooking drew a delighted hum of approval from the redhead as she entered, drawing the attention of both Aubrey and Stacie, who chuckled.
"Wow, look at you. You're more ambulatory this morning than I'd have expected, given how much you drank last night." Stacie said, observing Chloe as she perched on a stool beside her. Aubrey, bless her heart, was already pouring Chloe a cup of delicious, life-sustaining coffee and adding Chloe's normal amount of cream and sugar. Chloe inhaled the delightful aroma and took a long, luxurious pull from the cup before she even considered responding to the leggy brunette.
"That's because Past Chloe is a saint…" The redhead responded cryptically before taking another sip. Stacie, looking confused turned to Aubrey. The blond had let out a bark of laughter at Chloe's answer before sliding two fresh, piping hot pancakes off the griddle and onto a plate for Chloe.
"I'm surprised you never met Past Chloe while you guys were at the Bellas House together at Barden." Aubrey said, pouring some more batter onto the griddle for pancakes for herself. As it pooled to the perfect size, the blond put the now empty bowl of batter into the sink and continued her explanation, "No matter how drunk this one gets, and I've seen her REALLY drunk mind you, she always has a tendency to leave herself some meds and a large glass of water by her bedside before she passes out. Sometimes there's even a note…"
"Seriously? That's some incredible foresight… I wish Past Stacie was that nice. But no, that bitch usually just hides my favorite pair of shoes or something." Stacie said, grumbling slightly before tucking back into her pancakes.
"If it makes you feel better, Past Aubrey doesn't do it either. I'm not sure if she even exists, honestly. In fact, I'm pretty sure that there's usually only Present Aubrey." Chloe said, finally having worked up to being to form complete, coherent sentences. Taking a few quick bites of her pancake she looked back and forth between the two for a moment before going on, "What were you guys talking about anyway? Before I came in… I heard you laughing from the stairs."
"Oh, it's nothing. I was just relating some stories to Bree about some of my coworkers-slash-classmates who were doing stupid things. She observed that students seem to be idiots no matter where they are in this country." Stacie said casually with a wave of her fork towards the blond. Aubrey, flipping the pancakes on the griddle just chuckled and nodded.
"I'm not wrong, either. The more I've been doing with the new Lodge over here, the more I realize that stupid is stupid, no matter what state you're in." Aubrey said before reaching for the coffee pot to refill everyone's cups. After she filled Chloe's cup the redhead poured in her own cream and sugar before giving it a quick stir.
"God, Bree. I love you, you know that?" Chloe said in rapture as she took another sip of her beverage. Of course, considering Aubrey heard the redhead say that multiple times a day, the blond just chuckled and went back to tending to her pancakes.
"Hey now, if I didn't know better Beale, I'd think you were trying to steal my girl." Stacie said, pointing her fork warningly at Chloe. The redhead, laughing, raised her hands in surrender as Stacie glared at her.
"Since when have I been 'your girl', Stace?" Aubrey asked, watching the interaction between her two best friends. If asked about it later, Aubrey would deny the slight swooping feeling she'd felt in her stomach at those words, passing it off as being hungry and a little hungover.
"Oh, you missed that conversation cuz you'd left Barden. I claimed you. You're mine now, Posen." Stacie said, turning her gaze to look at Aubrey with a possessive smile. Chloe wasn't sure if she was imagining it, but she could have sworn she saw Aubrey's eyes widen just slightly at Stacie's words. Of course, she only managed to watch Bree for a few seconds before laughter overcame her and drew the other girl's attention to her.
"Sorry Bree, I guess I forgot to tell you about that. I don't even remember how it came about, but one late night at the Bellas House that no doubt involved too much alcohol it happened, as I'm sure you're undoubtedly shocked to hear. Anyway, somewhere in the conversation Stacie ended up claiming you. I tried to fight her for you, but I suck at arm wrestling, you know that…" Chloe said when she finally finished giggling at the memory. Honestly she didn't know why she hadn't told the blond about it already, but it just hadn't come up.
"Well, ok then. I guess I'm Stacie's…" Aubrey said, having gotten control of her initial reaction and turning to back to retrieve her pancakes before they burned. She took the time while buttering them and putting on just the right amount of syrup to take stock of things. After she was done she looked up at Stacie and said, "So… Aside from pancakes, I'm thinking a lazy day at the house today. You wanna hang with us, Stace?"
Stacie, her mouth full of pancake at the time, just nodded to Aubrey's question and the trio went to work on the pancakes with determined effort. Occasional quiet chatter interrupted them, but for the most part, the three girls were more interested in putting some carbs back into themselves and drinking their way through the pot of coffee that Stacie had made. After a little clean-up, Chloe's contribution to breakfast, the three of them gathered in the living room and piled onto the couch. With their busy lives of late, neither Chloe nor Aubrey had had much of a chance to catch up on all the tv shows they regularly recorded, and Stacie's schedule was worse than theirs.
So that was how Chloe found herself spending a rather enjoyable Saturday afternoon and evening. Tucked into a corner of her couch, feet and legs draped over her two best friends, and watching silly singing shows, or amusing dance shows, and just once a cop drama before all three agreed that the day wasn't made for drama. If you were to ask Chloe, she felt that there was already far too much drama in her life.
Her thoughts occasionally drifted back to what had happened prior to the show the previous evening. She did her best to keep her mind on the present, and since her boss hadn't called to fire her that was a little easier than it might have been. The mystery of everything, however, still crept into her mind from time to time. But whenever she started to dwell on it either Aubrey or Stacie would notice.
And smack her in the face with a pillow.
By dinner time she was almost fed up with her two friends, but she had to admit that their plan was working. She only finally got a break from it all when Stacie and Aubrey ran to the store for something to make for dinner and she snuck off to take a shower. When she found herself singing Titanium under the almost scalding hot spray, however, she had to stop her mind from going back.
It was only then, standing under the spray that she realized that for the second time in her life she'd been in the presence of a very naked Beca Mitchell. Albeit with a worse view than before, but this time Chloe had been touching her.
The front door slamming open drew her back to the present and she called out that she was in the shower after hearing Aubrey screaming for her. She finished up quickly, drying off and throwing on some old Barden sweats she'd pulled out earlier. Walking into the kitchen she found the two girls unpacking the groceries and tried to get an idea of what was for dinner.
"Don't even think about it…" Aubrey said, raising an admonitory finger at her as Chloe started to reach for one of the packages. The blond smacked her hand away before grabbing the item she'd been reaching for herself and Chloe pouted a little. When Aubrey turned back to see if she snorted, "Hmph! Not gonna happen, Beale. Last time I let you cook in this kitchen you exploded three eggs all over the stovetop, remember?"
"Aubrey! That was an accident, you know it! I was trying to hard boil some eggs for your breakfast, and, well, I got distracted by that show I was watching and forgot about them…" Chloe whined, but Stacie was laughing now too. Turning an accusatory glare on the brunette, Chloe stuck out her tongue.
"I mean, I'm not gonna say you're a bad cook, Chlo'. Just… Maybe stick to making reservations instead of making actual food… There was a reason that you usually got skipped over for dinner assignments back at the Bellas House, and it wasn't because you were Captain." Stacie said, a sympathetic look on her face. She knew that the redhead meant well, but she really wasn't the greatest cook. Not that she minded, because with everything else that Chloe was, being a fantastic cook on top of it would have been unfair.
"You know the rules, Chloe. I, or in this case we, will cook. You're responsible for helping with cleanup." Aubrey said, taking the last of the items and sorting them into what was for tonight's food, and what went into the fridge. Finally ready, she shooed Chloe out of the kitchen and as the redhead settled onto the couch she heard Aubrey and Stacie starting to make dinner.
The redhead knew not to argue the point. She really wasn't the best cook, whereas Aubrey and Stacie were pretty damned good at it. She still thought she had the better end of the deal, since all she had to do was clean up. But then again, Aubrey thought she had the better end of the deal, since cooking for her was easy. All in all it was a fairly perfect arrangement.
It didn't take too long for the redhead to make her way back into the kitchen, however. As delicious smells started wafting out into the living room and tantalizing her on the couch Chloe eventually moved to her favorite spot while Bree was cooking. Perched on a stool at the island where the blond was hard at work. Sometimes Stacie was there too, sometimes not. When she was the three of them got on like they were all back at Barden, and neither the brunette nor the blond seemed to mind if she swiped a few veggies they were cutting up.
Before Chloe would have expected it the timer on the oven was dinging that it was ready and Bree was chivying her off to make the table. Then they all sat around their rather larger for the space it was in table and had another delightful meal. It was chicken something. Aubrey told her, but she was too busy trying to not to have a food orgasm when the blond said it, so Chloe had missed anything after the word chicken.
Dinner was followed by possibly the most succulent chocolate lava cake, courtesy of Stacie, and then the evening wrapped up with the trio snuggled up on the couch holding wine glasses and watching movies. As the final credits started to roll, Chloe finished the last of her glass of wine and said, "You know, today has been about the most perfect day someone can have when waking up with a hangover. I love you two, you guys know that right?"
"Of course we know, silly." Stacie said, untangling herself from the pile and gathering up the three empty glasses to take to the kitchen. When she walked back in she glanced at her watch and winced at the time. Looking back and forth between the pair who were now getting up off the couch, she added, "Hey, I didn't realize how late it was… And with the wine I don't really want to drive home. Mind if I crash on the couch?"
"Couch? Pshhh! You can sleep in my room, like we used to back at Barden during Bellas bonding events at Chloe and my apartment. Besides, I am yours after all, it's only your right…" Aubrey said teasingly. Chloe giggled, she blamed it on the wine, and just swatted the two on their asses as she walked past.
"No loud sex though, this ginger needs her beauty sleep." She called as she entered the hallway towards her room. She knew that Aubrey would be blushing, and Stacie no doubt winking suggestively at the comment. But she couldn't resist.
"No, she really doesn't, hot stuff." She heard Stacie holler back at her, causing her to smile and blush a little of her own. She was sure she was still blushing just a little as she closed the door to her bedroom and yawned. Looking around the room she saw evidence of her wanderings over the last couple years everywhere.
After graduating, finally, when the girls who had joined the Bellas in her original senior year graduated, Chloe had wandered around as though adrift. She'd taken up dozens of jobs from simple things like administrative assistant roles to even spending a month as a stripper. That had been a dare from Fat Amy, that she wouldn't even make it a month. She had, but only barely. Though she wouldn't deny that it had been an interesting experience. It helped that she'd always loved singing and dancing, and while the singing was mostly in her head, dancing was a thing that was encouraged. Discounting all that, her time working at Serenity Spa had almost been the longest gig she'd held down since graduation.
She really enjoyed the work, too, which was helpful. Making people healthier and happier through the power of touch was something that Chloe found to be amazingly rewarding. She had even told Aubrey a few days ago that she might see this job sticking. The blond had been thrilled for her and had asked her why this, out of all the things. Chloe couldn't explain it, but something about the spa had just felt right, felt like home to her.
Smiling at the thought of heading back to work on Monday, Chloe looked over her outfit in her mirror and determined that if she just took off the pants, it was perfectly adequate for bed. Once pantsless, the redhead climbed into her bed and checked to make sure she didn't have an alarm set because she wanted to sleep in a little on Sunday, she curled up and let her thoughts drift back to the night before. To having fun dancing with Aubrey and Stacie, to the amazing music, and to how glad she was to have her two best friends with her in LA.
Waking up on Sunday was just about the complete opposite from Chloe's experience on Saturday. She was warm, she was cozy, she felt well-rested, and best of all she wasn't hung over. A glance at her phone showed that it was just a little bit after nine in the morning, so not late by any means, but still about two hours later than she normally woke up. And she felt positively sinful lying in bed and relishing those extra couple hours.
Eventually, though, the smell of coffee drew her downstairs, and she was rewarded with a mug of the piping how brew curtesy of Stacie. Aubrey was busy eating a bowl of cereal, apparently no fancy breakfast this morning, but Chloe didn't mind. If you had blueberry pancakes every day for breakfast, the novelty would wear off.
All three girls sat and ate in relative silence, broken by the occasional crunch of cereal or slurp of coffee. The sun was streaming in through the window set above the sink, and life seemed fairly peaceful. Just about as nice a Sunday morning as Chloe could have imagined.
Which was why the sudden chirping of Stacie's cellphone probably sounded especially out of place.
Both Chloe and Aubrey eyed the brunette curiously as she, somewhat sheepishly, retrieved her phone and thumbed it on. Her expression took on a strange look as she read the text, her head tilting to the side as she seemed to have to think on the meaning. Aubrey spoke first, nudging Stacie with her foot as she asked, "Well, who is it?"
"Uh… It's, uh, it's Beca. She wants to meet up for lunch later." Stacie said, still looking down at the phone and seemingly deliberately not making eye contact with either girl. Chloe, having heard the former Bellas name froze in her seat as the memories of Friday before the club flooded her brain.
"Well, what are you gonna say? I mean, you said that she'd probably want to meet up for lunch, didn't you?" Aubrey asked quickly. No doubt, Chloe assumed, the blond was only trying to settle the situation as Aubrey certainly wasn't the one consumed with terrifying thoughts about her job, her future, and her life.
"I mean, yeah, the lunch part I expected. But, you know, I was thinking it wouldn't be until next weekend." Stacie said, finally glancing up at Aubrey then Chloe. Taking in the panicked expression Chloe was probably wearing, Stacie put on her most reassuring look, one that the redhead had seen often when she was freaking out about the Bellas back at Barden, and started typing out a reply as she said, "I'm sure it's nothing, though. We haven't really seen each other lately, she probably was just eager to catch up."
The response back from Beca was almost immediate, which Chloe was certain was a bad sign. But Stacie didn't spend much time reading it before locking her phone and putting it down. Draining the last of her coffee the brunette stood up and took her mostly empty bowl to the sink. The tension, finally too much for Chloe, broke when the redhead blurted out, "I should just quit now, shouldn't I? I mean, she's probably totes pissed and is gonna get me fired. I know it. Oh god… And I really liked that job too, damnit…"
"Hey, hey, calm down, Chlo." Stacie said, shutting off the water and turning to see Aubrey resting a comforting hand on her shoulder. Drying her hands on a dish towel she walked over and gave the redhead a one-armed hug before adding, "I'm sure it's nothing, really. I told her I'd meet her in a couple hours, so I'm gonna head home and shower and change. I'll call you guys as soon as we're done, I'm sure it's no biggie…"
Awkward goodbyes were exchanged with Stacie as the brunette gathered her stuff and made her way to the door. Chloe's were awkward because, despite Stacie's reassurances, she was still sure she knew what the meeting was about. Aubrey was awkward, Chloe knew, because the blond was struggling with Stacie seeing Beca and talking about, well, them. All three of them knew the purpose of the meeting would be Stacie getting yelled at for keeping them a secret from the short, former Bella.
Stacie again expressed her confidence that she had reasoning that Beca would understand. But Chloe knew Aubrey, in spite of her own fierce, independent manner, was actually still rather upset about how things had gone down with Beca. Aubrey had blamed herself for a long time for everything with Beca, especially after Stacie had told them that the routine they had performed at Finals had been given to her by Beca before the brunette left Barden.
Aubrey was giving Stacie a hug at the door when Chloe felt the pocket of her PJs vibrating, followed almost immediately by her ringtone cutting into the relative silence of the room. Chloe fished it out as Aubrey and Stacie turned to look at her curiously only to almost drop it when she saw who was calling.
"Oh, em, aca-gee! It's work… This is it, I'm getting fired. They're going to fire me. Schnitzel!" Chloe said with obvious anger, hurt, and misery in her voice. She stared at the screen for a second, debated not answering it, before flicking the green accept icon and saying, "Hello?"
"Chloe, good you're awake. It's Mr. Vallencia. I need you to come in to the spa today. Can you be here by noon?" Mr. Vallencia's voice was exceedingly curt and his manner more abrupt than usual. Chloe couldn't help squeezing her eyes tightly shut as she assumed the absolutely worst. Before she even had a chance to say yes or no to coming in, he was already proceeding on, "Excellent. See you in a couple hours."
It took Chloe about ten seconds before she realized she was still holding the phone to her ear despite the line having gone dead. Stacie and Aubrey must have seen something on her face because the pair of them were looking at her rather worriedly as she slowly lowered her arm, her gaze falling to see a picture of Ricardo Vallencia scowling out from his profile picture at her. She felt the stinging behind her eyes before she even realized she was crying, and felt Aubrey and Stacie's arms around her a moment later.
"Oh god, Chlo… What was it? Who was it? What's the matter?" Aubrey asked softly, her arm rubbing up and down on Chloe's back as the redhead sniffled, trying to stop the tears. It seemed, however, that the universe had it out for her today. Between Stacie's lunch meeting, where the brunette was going to get in trouble for hiding the Bellas presence in LA, and her getting called in so abruptly to work Chloe just knew today was going to be her worst day ever. Well, her worst day since Semis of Stacie and Beca's freshmen year at Barden, at any rate.
"I… It's… He's…" Chloe spluttered disjointedly. She wasn't even sure what she was trying to say, but apparently the other two understood and simply hugged her harder. Internally Chloe was feeling a rush of emotions, the two most powerful were despair and anger. The former, she felt, was natural, but it was the rising tide of the later that surprised her a little bit.
"Don't you worry, Chlo'. I'm sure there's another explanation. And if there isn't, I'll slap Beca silly when I see her later, I promise" Stacie said fiercely after the long, three-way hug concluded. The redhead couldn't help but smile at the determination she saw in Stacie's eyes as the taller brunette looked down at her protectively. Aubrey had apparently had similar thoughts to Stacie's if her next words were any indication.
"I know that what we did… What I did back then was wrong. But if that little hobbit got you fired, so help me by my beloved aca-gods, I will show her that she can be on the receiving end of much worse from me!" The blond's words were like steel layered over cold iron as she spoke, and Chloe almost reached out to tell her that it wasn't Beca's fault. I mean, it probably was the reason she got fired, or was going to be fired, but something in the redhead wanted to fight against Aubrey and protect Beca. It took Chloe a few seconds to wrap her head around that one, for sure.
"It's… It'll be ok, guys. I, umm… I need to get showered and stuff, get ready to go. And so do you, Stace. Seriously, though, keep us posted about your brunch and I'll let you know what reason he gives me…" Chloe said, her mind veering away from saying the words out loud, as though that would make them real.
After another quick group hug Stacie turned to leave, Aubrey walking her out as Chloe made her way to her bedroom. Once behind the closed door she sank down on her bed and looked at one of the pictures sitting on her dresser not far away. It had been taken a week or so earlier at work on a slow day when herself and a few of the others were goofing around in the employees' lounge. As she saw herself and the others, that anger came rising back up in her again bringing with it determination to fight for her job.
What happened in the past was past, and if Beca was still this pissed about it then Chloe wasn't going to be the one to bear the brunt of it. She loved her job, and she was willing to fight to keep it. Swiping the remaining tears from her cheeks she stood up and grabbed her towels before walking into the bathroom with resolve in her eyes.
Stacie got to the café a little earlier than Beca had told her, but the brunette needed a little time to calm down. She knew that Beca was pissed at the rest of the Bellas still, but if she actually got Chloe fired, then the short DJ would learn something that more than a few guys at Barden University learned while she was there.
Don't fuck with Stacie Conrad.
Checking her phone she sent out a quick group text to Bree and Chloe.
Stacie (11:45 AM): Got here early, no sign of the short one. Will keep you posted… How you holding up, Chlo?
Stacie set her phone down and started glancing at the menu. She hadn't spent long looking, though, before a waiter came over and asked if she needed any coffee. She gratefully accepted the proffered coffee and even had him fill a cup for Beca. She knew from experience that pretty much the only thing that kept the shorter girl going at times was caffeine and spite. As the guy was filling their cups she heard her phone vibrate against the table a couple times and glanced down to see who had said what.
Bree (11:46 AM): Make sure to smack her for me when you see her. Chloe doesn't deserve this…
Red (11:47 AM): Don't do that, Stace… And I'm, well, not good, but I'm not gonna go down without a fight, that's for sure. Anyway, just got into the parking lot, need to head in. Will text you guys later with an update.
Stacie (11:49 AM): I will if she's earned it, that's for sure, Bree. And you go girl! Tell that douche he's not getting rid of you that easily. Ooooh, I think I see her, gotta go.
Tucking her phone into her purse quickly, Stacie saw a familiarly slouched figure stroll into the entrance of the café. Beca had gone full celebrity today, wearing one of her favorite hooded sweatshirts that had a nice, deep cowl and complimenting it with a pair of oversized sunglasses. Having spotted Stacie already, the shorter girl gave a little half-wave and started walking over, allowing the leggy brunette to see that she hadn't forgone her trademarked dark skinny jeans and boots.
Stacie smiled at Beca as the shorter girl slid into the seat opposite her and reached desperately for the coffee cup before drawing a long swallow. With an enormous sigh of relief and pleasure, Beca relaxed into the booth and took off her sunglasses. Stacie was trying to gauge the other girl's state by her facial expression, but Beca had become even more guarded and reserved during her time in LA than she had been back when the leggy brunette knew her as a Barden Bella.
Stacie opened her mouth to speak, to venture out onto the fragile ice that was going to be the conversation of the day, but Beca's eyes snapped up to hers and silenced her with a look. It was plainly obvious that Beca was waiting for something, and that something appeared in the form of their waiter who smiled down at them and asked if they were ready to order. Seeing as how Beca had just sat down, Stacie told him they needed another few minutes and so he walked off. The taller brunette wondered how long she would have to wait for the brunette to bring up the point of the meeting now that the waiter had left. Not long as it turned out…
"So… You gonna tell me why the fuck I didn't know that Chloe, and probably Aubrey, are in LA right now?" Beca asked, her tone icy and her look as close to furious as Stacie had ever seen. In fact, the doctor to be found herself more than a little intimidated by the shorter girl. She had known after their phone conversation that Beca was pissed off. But it only now dawned on her that she'd never really seen Beca pissed off before. Not really pissed off, not like this. It was a bit scary.
And kind of sexy.
"Uhh…" Stacie stammered, struggling to come up with words as her brain processed everything she was seeing and feeling. After a few seconds, however, it kicked into gear and she closed her mouth and took a deep breath. Looking straight into the other girl's dark, stormy blue eyes, Stacie went on a bit more coherently, "Well, Aubrey is opening a lodge of some sort. A retreat, or something, where companies send their employees for leadership and team building training. Chloe, well, I think you know what she has been doing…"
Beca's expression didn't change at the slight lilt of humor that Stacie had tried to inject into the conversation. The brunette just blinked at her for a solid ten seconds. Ten seconds in which Stacie wondered if it was possible for her to be able to melt into her bench and not have to sit through the rest of this conversation.
"That's a bullshit answer, Stace. You know goddamn well what I meant. What's she… Why are they here? And more to the point, why didn't you fucking tell me earlier? I thought you were my friend." Beca's voice was still as cold and quiet as an arctic tundra. And that was probably what scared Stacie the most about the situation.
Stacie (11:49 AM): I will if she's earned it, that's for sure, Bree. And you go girl! Tell that douche he's not getting rid of you that easily. Ooooh, I think I see her, gotta go.
The text from her friend put a smile on Chloe's face as she got out of her car and locked the doors. Standing in the parking lot of Serenity Spa the redhead felt a certain amount of gravity settle in on her after what she'd said to Stacie and Aubrey in their text conversation. She was going to fight for her job. Because she'd earned it. Because she was great at it. And more importantly, because she loved it here.
Glaring at the employee door as though she could blow it open like some sort of superhero in a Marvel movie with the sheer force of her mind, Chloe strode determinedly across the lot. As she walked through the employee's entrance she made her way to the break room, expecting at any moment to see Mr. Vallencia jump out and fire her on the spot. Instead she had a rather uneventful walk to the break room.
When she got in she saw a couple girls sitting on one of the couches that she knew by name, but hadn't ever really interacted with. She'd never really worked weekends, so while she knew the names of the weekend girls, she wasn't that familiar with them. One of the pair, Elizabeth she was fairly sure, waved cheerfully at Chloe when she walked through the doors. Her gaze immediately skipped over the petite blond girl and went to the doors to Mr. Vallencia's office. It was closed, but she could vaguely see through the frosted glass that someone was moving inside.
Deciding to wait, to put off the expected encounter just a little bit longer, Chloe made her way to the lockers and found her own. Opening it up, she saw her stuff that she'd brought in and left there. Mostly just work related stuff, but there were a few things she'd want to take home with her.
The most important was a picture that she'd taken shortly after getting to LA with Bree and Stacie on the Santa Monica Pier. All three of them were making goofy faces, and it cheered Chloe up every time she saw it, this time included. Smiling at the image, and at the memory of the day that the three of them had spent cruising around Santa Monica and being touristy, Chloe reached out and touched the glossy picture before moving her hand to rest on her uniform. The soft shirt was folded, as it always was, and waiting for her to don it and step out to represent the family that was Serenity Spa. Waiting for a day that Chloe feared wouldn't come again.
"Beale!" The shout from behind her caused her to jump, so lost was she in memories that she hadn't heard the door to Mr. Vallencia's office open. But the booming voice of the big man himself she definitely heard. Turning to face him he waved for her to come over as he said, "You're here. Come on in, I want to talk with you."
He turned and headed back into his office without waiting for a reply, confident that the redhead would follow him. Chloe's crystal clear, blue-eyed gaze fell on Elizabeth and her friend, both of whom had sympathetic expressions on their faces. It only helped to harden Chloe's resolve, however, and gave the redhead the push she needed to close her locker, turn to face the open office, and stride towards it with her head upright and uncompromising.
"Shut the door." The big man said gruffly as she entered. A light tug on the door pulled it closed, and Chloe was moving towards one of the chairs without much more than a pause, her eyes locked on the owner of the spa. He was busy looking over some paperwork on his desk and seemed only dimly aware of her. She intended to make him very aware of her. Still without looking up he started to speak, "Chloe, you've been with us here for a couple months now…
"Mr. Vallencia, before you continue, I have something to say. I love working here. I love the staff, I love the customers. This is possibly my favorite job anywhere, and if you remember my resume, I've had more than a few jobs in my day. I just… I don't want to leave." Chloe said, the last part coming out much more like a plea than the assertive insistence she had started out with. She knew she was probably giving him her patented "puppy dog" look that Aubrey considered cheating whenever she used it in arguments with the blond.
"Oh. Well, I hope you aren't leaving… Oh, did you think I was going to…?" Mr. Vallencia started to chuckle for a moment before giving a couple full belly laughs. Chloe felt an immediate sense of relief flooding through her as the reason for his laughing. After a moment Mr. Vallencia wiped his cheeks and caught his breath enough to speak he said, "Chloe, Chloe… No, no. I'm not firing you. You're like a daughter to me."
Chloe was shocked, to say the least. She had come in today fully expecting to get fired because of… Because of a misunderstanding that hurt the redhead even to this day. To have Mr. Vallencia saying she was wrong, she was completely and totally wrong, was a shock to say the least. Letting out what was possibly the biggest sigh in her life she said, her voice weak from the emotions flowing through her, "Oh thank god. You sounded so angry on the phone earlier, and when I came in well… And, thank you Mr. Vallencia, that means a lot to me."
"Ricardo, Chloe. Call me Ricardo. Now, please I just wanted to thank you for coming in on such short notice. Emily, she called in sick this morning and she was booked all day long. I feared so bad to have to call and cancel all those appointments." Mr. Vallencia, Ricardo, said jovially as he pretended to scold her with one hand. Chloe, now feeling much better about the world just smiled at him and nodded, acquiescing to the request. After seeing her nod, Ricardo pointed to the phone and said, "As for that, well, that was my realtor. He gets me so worked up… But that's not your problem. Again, I just wanted to thank you for coming in on such short notice. You should get ready, too, your first appointment should be here soon."
"Well, it's my pleasure, Ricardo. As I said, I love working here, I'm happy to help out." Chloe said, standing up and smiling at the big man behind his desk. As he turned to go, however, he snapped his fingers as though he'd remembered something he had forgotten and reached out to grab a small tip envelop from under some papers on his desk.
"I almost forgot. Cindy, she left this for you. From Beca on Friday, I guess. She said she didn't see you leaving, so she gave it to me for you. It seems my little Beca liked you too, what did you think?" Ricardo asked, holding out the envelope to her. Chloe, completely floored by this sudden switch to what she'd expected the conversation to be, just looked at it until he shook it a few times at her.
"Oh, uh, thanks… Yeah, I, ummm, I had plans that night and had to dash out right after. And Beca… She was… She…" Chloe said, her words trailing off at the end as she tried to come up with words to describe what happened without saying what actually happened. The normally overly talkative redhead was, for one of the few times in her life, at a loss for words. Thankfully Ricardo seemed to take it in stride as he too stood up and started to talk.
"Of course, young girl like you, of course you have plans on a Friday night. I hope you talked to her, my little Beca, she is so smart, so funny. Do you like her? Did you get to know her?" Ricardo asked, as though he was her real father prying into her life like her dad did all the time. She smiled at the similarities, but winced internally at the conversation. She had to get out of it before she got herself in trouble.
"Oh. Uh, yeah… We… Well, I did get to know her." Chloe said, though she managed to avoid adding the word once to the end of the sentence only with great difficulty. Nodding towards the break room she spoke quickly, before he could ask more questions, "I should go get ready, you know?"
"Yes, yes. Of course. Before you go, I must ask… Did she say anything about a vacation?" Ricardo asked, his words catching her just as she got to the door. She froze with her hand gripping the handle as memories of the massage drifted into her thoughts. She must have shaken her head, however, because the big man went on, "I just ask because, well, her assistant called to cancel her appointment for this week. And the only times I know that she has canceled was because she was out of town… No worries. It's not important. You go get ready. I need to call my realtor back and yell some more."
Chloe breathed a huge sigh of relief, again, as she stepped out into the breakroom and closed the door behind her. She wasn't fired.
She wasn't fired!
That thought propelled her across the room with delight. That and the fact that she'd gotten out of Ricardo's office without telling him what had happened as, obviously, Beca hadn't spilled the beans about it either. As she got to her locker she opened the envelope and gasped as she saw the two, crisp hundred dollar bills inside. Seeing her phone, the light blinking indicating a message she thumbed it on and saw a message from Bree to the group chat.
Realizing that Stacie was, quite possibly, giving Beca an enormous amount of hell for how she'd treated Chloe, the redhead quickly read Bree's message saying that the "midget probably deserved it" before typing out a message of her own.
Chloe (12:05 AM): Abort mission! Abort I say! I'm not fired. They just… Someone called in sick. And Beca did… Well, nevermind, abort mission! I'll explain later, I have to get ready for clients.
The awkward silence that had settled around the table after Beca's icy words seemed to last forever. It didn't help that the waiter showed up, in traditional waiter style, and started asking questions about what the pair wanted to eat. With what Stacie could only assume pure professional skill, the guy plowed through a fairly rehearsed speech about the specials before asking what they each wanted. Stacie ordered a sandwich of some sort, she wasn't even really sure after the words awkwardly left her mouth what she'd ordered. Beca ordered a salad, something that shocked the brunette, Beca rarely ate salads.
As the waiter wrote it all down Stacie figured that maybe the shorter girl was planning on storming out and didn't want to waste a good meal. That only made her feel even more awkward. And awkwardness wasn't really something that Stacie felt that often. After he finally left, the taller girl avoided looking at Beca for a few moments, trying to settle her thoughts. The shorter girl's voice brought Stacie's eyes to her, however, as Beca said, "Well? You going to tell me why my one friend betrayed me like that?"
"How about this, Beca? I did it for that thing you value so fucking much. Loyalty!" Stacie said, her own words fierce and angry at the tone that the other girl was taking. She was a little surprised, honestly, at her reaction. Something in her had just snapped when Beca accused her of that. So she fired back with her ultimate weapon, choosing to go straight for the big guns instead of dancing around the situation. The shorter girl seemed shocked, even sitting back as her eyes popped wide open. Stacie took advantage of the momentary upper hand and leaned forward to continue, "Yeah, I'm your friend. You're mine too. One of my best friends. But you know who else I'm best friends with? The Barden Bellas. They were my sisters for four years, Beca. For four years after you abandoned us!"
"I didn't… You guys… Aubrey kicked me out, and you guys didn't say anything!" Beca said, her own face flashing between shocked and confused before settling on angry as she finished. Stacie watched them play over the short girl's expression and felt a little bad about jumping down her throat. Of course, Beca deserved it for immediately jumping down Stacie's. And especially if she got Chloe fired.
"Yeah, we didn't. But we apologized for that. Or we tried to. But you had already left, Beca. You had already left Barden, left us. I'm just glad that you left me something, left me that thumb drive…" Stacie said, calming down and smiling at the girl, hoping to remind her that they were, in fact, friends. Beca seemed to be calming down a little bit herself, which was a good sign as far as Stacie was concerned, but she still looked very upset. As she was about to go on she heard a quiet pinging noise over the sound of the café and knew it was her phone's text message alert. Reaching inside she snagged the device and thumbed it on to see the message preview. All she had to see was Chloe saying abort to know it was time to change tactic. Locking the device again she tucked it back into her purse and said, "You did leave me that drive, left us the drive, Beca. And you know how much it helped. I don't know that I ever really thanked you for that…"
The short brunette, never really one to bask in fame or easily accept a compliment looked awkward as she tried to wave it off and take a sip of her coffee at the same time. She ended up doing both badly, but managed to avoid spilling the coffee at least, for which Stacie had to give her credit. After a moment Beca finally said, "I didn't… I knew you guys wouldn't win with her sets. They were tired and old… And, I guess, maybe a part of me felt bad about leaving. But that still didn't give her the right to–"
"No, no it absolutely didn't." Stacie cut Beca off before the brunette could launch into a rant about Aubrey. Although, Stacie had to admit, this was one of the few times that the brunette seemed even willing to talk a little about back then. She normally avoided the subject like a plague. Deciding that she maybe could gently test some boundaries she went on, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you they were in town. And I promise, if it's something you want, I'll keep them away from you as much as I can. But, Beca, they are my friends. I care about them as much as I care about you."
She almost mentioned that she was thinking she might care about one of them, at least, a bit more than Beca. But she wasn't sure if the short brunette was ready to deal with that. So instead she said her piece, simply and with as much true emotion in it as she could muster.
Before the brunette could respond, though it looked like Beca was giving some serious thought at least to what she had said, the waiter came back with their food. Stacie, having gone through some emotional ups and downs already today, was famished. And it turned out that her autopilot ordering hadn't failed her as she was presented with a delicious looking tuna melt complete with crispy bacon and some amazing looking curly fries.
The table remained quiet for a long while as the two girls ate, Stacie digging into her food ravenously while Beca picked and poked at her chicken Caesar salad. Stacie didn't say anything, she knew that Beca needed time to process things. She'd learned, both at Barden and here in LA, that the shorter girl had a highly active mind behind her quiet mouth, and she frequently needed to take some time to mull things over. Especially big, complicated things like this. Eventually, she knew, Beca would say something.
But the shorter brunette was silent the entire time that Stacie was eating. Beca had eaten maybe a quarter of her food then spent the rest of the time basically just pushing it around trying to find any croutons she might have missed. When the waiter came by about the time that Stacie was taking her last bite to drop the check off she expected Beca to say something, but Beca instead just reached to grab the bill. She gave it a cursory glance over before grabbing a couple bills from her wallet and slipping them inside. Laying the bill down on the table's edge she looked at Stacie, an unreadable expression on her face, and said, "I'll… Think about it. Thanks for lunch, Stace, but I… I've got to run."
The taller girl barely had time to raise her hand and call out for Beca to wait before the shorter girl was out of the booth and heading towards the exit. Stacie was honestly surprised, given how short Beca's legs were, that the other girl made such an expeditious exit. Instead of pursuing, which she knew would be a mistake, Stacie simply leaned back and let her head drop down. She was afraid she might have pushed too hard, but Beca had to know that the Bellas were important to her, as important as the little DJ herself was, and Stacie was willing to fight for both.
As soon as she was out the door, Beca was pulling her phone from her pocket. A couple taps later and it was in the process of connecting to her assistant Laura even as she was hailing a cab. She'd driven herself down here, but where she was going she didn't want to leave her car sitting for days.
"Hey deejay, what's shaking? How was your lunch?" Her assistant's voice was as cheerful as ever as she picked up the line. Beca was fairly sure that nothing ever dented Laura's optimistic attitude. If she gave it a moment's thought she'd realize that it was a lot like someone else she knew, someone she was in the process of avoiding, but Beca never really was one for deep emotional awareness.
"It went… I, um, I need you to come down and get my car. I left it at the garage near Beth's Café." Beca said as a cab pulled up. Opening the door she slid into the backseat and got her seatbelt on. As she kind of expected, the news of her car needing a ride shocked Laura, but didn't seem to affect her cheeriness.
"Ooooh, taking just the one car home? And you said you weren't into Stacie that way… I'm guessing that means don't bug with work stuff for the rest of the day, yeah?" Laura said teasingly. Honestly Beca wasn't sure why she put up with this from her assistant. I mean, yeah it was fun sometimes, but damn it she was the girl's boss. Taking a deep breath to calm herself down before answering, Beca counted down from ten in her head.
"LAX." She said to the driver, who was looking at her curiously. Feeling the car starting to move she turned her attention back to the phone and replied, "Actually, no. I need you to clear my schedule for the next two weeks. I've gotta get out of town for a bit. Book me a ticket to Kauai. First class."