Disclaimer: I own jack shit
Beca had to admit, she'd certainly been rolling her eyes a lot more than she usually did. And while her first instinct was to blame the sudden increase on the arrival of the Barden Bellas from five years earlier, she wasn't that naive. No, the real reason for all the eye rolling was because of a one Katarina McDaniel.
"Kat," Beca snapped from where she was draped dramatically over Kat's not-quite-comfortable couch. Every few seconds or so she would shift and wiggle in a vain attempt to get some semblance of comfort. It would work for a few seconds and then she'd be right back to wiggling and writhing in discomfort. "You said five minutes forty minutes ago, you still have to go pick up the Bellas, and my ass has now officially fallen asleep. What could possibly be taking so long?"
"Oh come off it Miss Impatient. It hasn't been that long," Kat stated with an eye roll as she came striding out of her bedroom still adjusting an earring. She stopped in the middle of her living room and did a slow dramatic turn while asking with a knowing smirk, "How do I look?"
Beca rolled her eyes (See! It was all Kat's fault really) and said shortly, "Like your outfit could have paid for my college tuition. Can we go now?" Beca's statement, while slightly exaggerated she'd be the first to admit (after all, her collegiate expenses had been covered by an estranged father and Kat knew it), wasn't too far off point. Kat was wearing a low-cut and short gold dress, a pair of high-heels that made Beca's usual medium sized friend tower over her in an unfortunately familiar and yet altogether frustrating fashion, and numerous pieces of shiny and expensive jewelry.
Beca, in contrast preferred the age old adage of 'Keep it simple stupid'. She was wearing a pair of black skinny jeans, her favorite pair of high-heeled black boots (that weren't combat ready for once), a white oxford shirt with the collar undone, a light black vest over that and a red tie knotted loosely to finish off the look. Loose hair flowing in curls down past her shoulders and natural makeup completed her simple yet elegant ensemble.
"Hakuna your tatas," Kat said flippantly as she applied yet another layer of lipstick. "What time is Tessa coming to get you?"
Beca glanced down at her phone and responded, "She should be here in a couple minutes. You cool if I head down now?"
"Yeah, yeah," Kat waved her hand dramatically at the DJ. "I know the drill. You ride to the club with Tessa, and without me may I emphasize, I go pick up the Bellas, the boy toy, and the accountant and we head out to 7-OnUp in about five hours. I'm not walking through those doors a minute before ten o'clock so we'll probably go out to dinner somewhere. By then you'll be all set up at the club and tucked away safely in the DJ booth and if any of the Aca-bitches ask where you teeny self is, I lie and say something about running wire work. Now go and have a kickin' show. Bring honor to the houses of Hale and Mitchell." Kat ended her tirade with her arm extended dramatically in the air like superman and what was supposed to look like a meaningful and dramatic look off into the distance.
Beca rolled her eyes, took a half-hearted swipe at Kat's arm that the popstar dodged easily, and stood up to grab her jacket. She slipped into it easily, slipped her sunglasses out of the pocket and made her way downstairs to where Tessa had just texted she was waiting. As soon as she slipped into the passenger seat of Tessa's nondescript black sedan ("Do you want to look like a fucking kidnapper?" "Well maybe if you grew a few inches then no one would notice shrimp."), she was bombarded by her PR manager with questions. Beca answered every question as it was fired at her, everything about were her tattoos covered to if she had everything she needed set up.
Beca was anxious yet excited about tonight, which truthfully was a feeling that hadn't disrupted her in quite a few years. As much as she loved playing for clubs, eventually the nights started to blur into one another and even the truly big ones no longer fazed the experienced DJs. It was both comforting to know that she was finally comfortable enough to know where she stood in the DJ world and slightly saddening when what she once would have given anything to experience had become mundane and boring.
This night was going to be different however. She wanted to make tonight's show the best she'd put on in a while, maybe ever. For the first time in what felt like a very long time, Beca felt like there was more riding on tonight's performance than there had been for a while. Whether it was her pride as CC Hale or her desire to give the Bellas a night they wouldn't forget (a certain red-head in particular), Beca didn't truly know. All she knew was that she had a certain nervous buzz floating through her veins and it was making her leg twitch much to Tessa's irritation. Beca shot Tessa a terse smile as they pulled up to the club and then she was off to the DJ booth to make this night unforgettable, at least to all the patrons before the alcohol got ahold of their inhibitions and memories.
Chloe shot Aubrey an anxious look and fiddled slightly with the hem of her dress. Aubrey caught the nervous action and rolled her eyes dramatically at her best friend's nervousness. "Calm down Chloe," Aubrey murmured low enough that the other rather nosy Bellas wouldn't hear. "She's working tonight, you might not even see her."
Chloe shot Aubrey a look that clearly said, 'You're not helping!' and went back to twiddling with her clothes. And yeah, Chloe knew that Beca probably wasn't going to be exactly free for most of the evening, but she was still holding out hope that she'd be able to steal the shorter girl away for a dance. Hey, if worse came to worse she could just blame any "mistakes" on jiggle-juice and be on her merry ginger way. Chloe glanced down at her outfit, a dramatic little red dress with sky high heels to match, but she was brought out of her musings by the front door of Beca's apartment being flung open dramatically.
"I've got five hundred dollars in my purse, six inch heels, and at least seven shots with my name on it. Let's get a move on people, let's go, go, go!" Kat certainly seemed exuberant. There was a whoop and holler about dingos and suddenly Fat Amy was whipping her shirt around her head and honestly, how did she even get it off that fast? Kat grinned widely and offered her hand to the easily excitable girl for a high five and Fat Amy horizontally ran off to get her 'croc hunting' gear on. Kat laughed as she left but her excitement was dimmed somewhat when she looked around and saw that half of the Bellas were still in various stages of undress. Literally, Staice was walking around the apartment in a pair of a short shorts that made thongs seem modest and a push up bra that made her boobs look like they had moved past the whole 'Double D' cup and entered the latter half of the alphabet starting at Z.
"Sooooooo," Kat drew the word out dramatically and looked around at the women crammed into Beca's not quite spacious living room. "Are you planning on going out as strippers whose rent is due tomorrow or nah?" All of the Bellas looked at Kat with their jaws somewhere on the ground.
Finally it was Cynthia Rose who sputtered and gestured to Kat's form. She finally managed to form actual words and ask, "You're dressed like that and you have the nerve to call us strippers!"
Kat looked down, genuinely puzzled. "What do you mean? This is modest as hell, especially for Hollywood." All the gathered girls shrugged. While they couldn't exactly verify the validity of Kat's statement, from where they were standing 'modest as hell' were not the first words that came to mind.
This time it was Aubrey who quirked an eyebrow and stated, "Second question, why the hell are you here so early? It's only 5:30. Even I think that's excessive." That got her a few gasps from the gathered Bellas. They all had very distinct memories about the Aca-Nazi (as Beca had dubbed her a week into Bellas rehearsal) screaming at someone or another (usually Beca) about their lack of punctuality. The fact that the woman who had once given them an hour and a half long lecture on the importance of showing up fifteen minutes early when Beca had actually shown up on time for once instead of the apparently unsated but understood fifteen minutes before practice rule had them all a little throw for a loop.
Kat once again looked around in confusion. "What do you mean? We've got dinner at 7:00, we'll head over to the club at 10:00, actually get into the club at maaaaybe 10:45, party our tushes off and then stagger back here sometime in the wee hours of the morning. Sounds like the perfect plans to me."
"But why are you here an hour and a half early?" Aubrey questioned relentlessly. Although she could appreciate a good plan, she was not exactly a fan of having an international pop star walk in on her in an old pair of yoga pants and a tank top while said super star looked like a million dollars. (But seriously, Kat's dress looked like it cost more than Aubrey made in a month, and Aubrey's pay check was NOT small).
Kat shrugged and admitted, "Beca had to head over to the club already and I got bored. And here I thought you people would be excited to be rubbing elbows with the stars tonight."
"What?" Chloe asked with her head cocked curiously to the side. Because, yes Kat was one of the biggest names in pop music right now, but she was also a normal human who teased the Bellas' old friends like it was second nature and called an old friend of theirs names such as pipsqueak and squirt. Honestly, until tonight where she showed dressed like the star she was, Chloe had kind of forgotten that Kat was what most people considered a 'star'.
Kat hummed what was probably a yes as she absently studied her nails (which were disturbingly flawless) and said in a nonchalant tone, "Yeah 7 OnUp is kind of the place to be tonight especially with CC Hale spinning. A lot of the hella big names in Hollywood will be out on the dance floor and the best part is the club is locked down like Fort Knox so no paps can get in. And while some people like the attention more than others, most like the anonymity, or as close to it as you can get at their level of fame, that 7 OnUp offers. Last year I was grinded on by Rhianna, got a lap dance from Channing Tatum, and spent like fifteen minutes talking with Taylor Swift about cats. Big fun."
Kat looked up from inspecting her immaculate thumb nail and blinked twice at the awed looks on the Bellas. "What? I like cats, sue me." Aubrey snorted and made her way into the bedroom to get ready to go out. That was a particular can of worms that she had absolutely no desire to touch. All she was looking forward to tonight was dancing, drinking, and hopefully keeping Chloe from moping the entire night.
Kat settled back in the backseat of the limo TurnStyle had arranged to transport her and the Bellas (something about appeasing people that THE Beca Mitchell almost considered friends). All around her were the rambunctious Bellas. Fat Amy, Stacie, Chloe, and Cynthia-Rose were all bumping, grinding, and all around getting their dance on far earlier than Kat had anticipated.
"Ms McDaniel," Saul, the driver called back over his shoulder. "We've arrived. Would you like me to pull around back?"
"Please Saul," Kat responded and ten minutes later, the Bellas and Kat were elegantly(ish) descending from the limo and walking into the back door (which was actually the front door seeing as nearly all the famous clients used it instead of the gaping front ones). Right through the door was a small receiving room where Kat dropped off her coat and purse without batting an eye and the Bellas all scrambled to follow her lead.
"Alright ladies," Kat said as she turned and addressed the gathering Bellas much like a drill sergeant addressing his cadets (wisely no one mentioned the likeness of Aubrey's running of the Bellas practice however Amy did shoot her a few furtive glances). "Rules for the night!"
"There are rules?!" Amy wailed dramatically while looking genuinely dismayed. Kat, however, completely ignored her.
"Rule #1! You will all got at least a little hammered tonight. No exceptions. Rule #2! None of you will be paying for any of said drinks. Tell the bartenders to put it on Tab 1 and it in turn will go on TurnStyles tab. Rule #3! Please try and keep the dramatic gasping and squealing around famous people to a minimum. They're here to get sloshed just like you all. And Rule #4! If anyone sees Justin Timberlake, hands off he's mine. AND BREAK!" With her speech complete, Kat turned dramatically on her heel and vanished through two double doors. The Bellas all looked at each other uncertainly before almost subconsciously turning to Aubrey.
"Well ladies," she said as she took a deep breath. "Let's go soften the beaches." Amy whooped loudly and with a resounding way cry, she charged forward and flung the doors open. The Bellas stepped through and were hit with the sight of probably the most upscale club any of them had ever been in. The music was pounding, the lights were flashing, and people were dancing in every corner of the room.
Aubrey looked around before her eyes were drawn back to Chloe whose smile had stretched widely for the first time since she last saw Beca. "Oh hell no," she warned when she saw the almost predatory smirk that quickly replaced the grin.
"OH HELL YES BITCHES!" Amy exclaimed exuberantly and she all but dove into the crowds, the rest of the Bellas following at a more sedate pace.
It was just past 11:50 and Chloe was staggering around the club looking desperately for Beca. While she did honestly want to see her long-time crush, the copious amounts of alcohol in her system was probably adding another level of urgency that probably wasn't strictly necessary. With a brilliant amount of realization, she figured that if anyone would know where the snarky ex-Bella was holed up, it would be the DJ. After all, anyone who had spoken to Beca for ten minutes back at Barden knew what her aspirations were.
She vaguely knew that the opening DJ had been replaced about thirty minutes ago to be replaced by CC Hale which got an absolutely ground shaking roar in appreciation. So yeah, Chloe thought as she stumbled her way up an almost hidden staircase. She'd just go ask this CC where Beca was. In and out real quick.
Somehow she snuck past the guard which probably had less to do with her stealthy ninja skills and more to do with the fact that he was leading a pair of highly inebriated girls who were both gorgeous enough to be super models (with the clientele here tonight, they probably WERE supermodels) down a different hallway. Chloe staggered down the hallway, occasionally pulling open a door only to be met with a bunch of sound system and storage system closets.
Finally, she'd reached the end of the hallway and there was only one door left that she hadn't tried. With a triumphant grin, she pulled it open and stuck her head inside. What she saw was not what she expected at all however.
"Beca?" Chloe's voice was shaky and unsure. "What the hell are you doing up here when CC Hale is supposed… to be… playing," with each separate word, Chloe's face became paler and her eyes became wider. "Oh god," Chloe gasped and then she was gone, staggering out the door back to where she came from.
"Shit!" Beca yelped. "Shit, shit, fuckity shit. Chloe!" She made a move to follow after Chloe but she was abruptly yanked back by her headphones which were still plugged into the jack. "Fuck," Beca all but shouted as she made a move to unplug her headphones, right as the current song playing ended.
"Shit," Beca muttered as her fingers flew like fire to play the run of songs she usually had on reserve for when she needed a bathroom break. "Hey, hey guys," Beca breathed into the microwave and she sincerely hoped that her voice didn't sound as breathless as she felt like it did. "Hope you're finished recharging cause we're going way back and we're throwing it down." She clicked on the oldie but a goodie and there was an echoing cheer as the beginning notes of Apache streamed through the club speakers. Beca ripped the headphones off of her head, all but threw them down on the soundboard, and sprinted out the door after Chloe. She skidded around a corner and careened into a warm body.
"Whoah Becs, what's going on?" Tessa asked in concern as she kept a firm grip on Beca's shoulders despite the younger woman's desperate attempts to wriggle past her. "I was on my way up for your check and your voice sounded weird in that last introduction. What's the matter?"
"Tessa, you gotta let me go," Beca pleaded as she lunged once again and actually managed to break through Tessa's iron grip. She took maybe two steps and then she ran smack into Kat. Beca could have cried in frustration.
"Whoah, whoah shorty, where's the fire?"
"Kat you have to let me go!" Beca all but screamed as she once again fought to get past one of her friends. "Chloe knows!" Kat and Tessa froze.
While they and a select group of artists that 'CC Hale' had worked with over the years knew Beca's alter-ego, everyone who had ever come into professional contact with the woman had signed a confidentiality form. They had protocols in place should someone ever discover CC Hale's real identity without them planning for it, but those protocols had been designed almost four and a half years ago and had never been put into practice. Truthfully, they'd all become complacent, believing that no one would ever discover their secret. And now the cat was majorly out of the bag. Not just out of the bag, but tearing up the drapes and pissing in the corner.
Kat summed up the entire situation quite adeptly. "Fuck."
"Shut up, both of you," Tessa hissed as her brain started working a mile a minute. Both superstars fell deathly silent as they stared at Tessa intently. This was Tessa's strong suit, fixing the cataclysmic fuck-ups that seemed to perpetually follow Beca Mitchell no matter where she may wander.
"Alright. Alright," Tessa said, a game plan formulated in her head. "Beca, you get your ass back in the booth and pretend that nothing is wrong." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she held up hand and silenced Beca's loud protests. "This is a big night for you and damn if I'm not going to do my job. Leave the clean up to me, Kat, and Jesse and do your thing dammit." Beca frowned sulkily and slunk back to the DJ booth and vanished inside.
"What am I supposed to be doing?" Kat asked in confusion.
Tessa shot Kat a look and she hissed, "Find me that goddamn ginger." Kat gave a mocking salute and tottered off on her ungodly high-heels. Tessa sighed, dragged her hand across her face, and made her way down following the mildly inebriated popstar to try to find and corral her no doubt highly inebriated boyfriend. It was going to be a looong night.
Chloe staggered away from the DJ booth and ran down the corridor to the stairs. From inside she could hear Beca curse loudly and call after her. She didn't slow down. She bolted past Tessa and then past Kat but she didn't pause. They passed her without incident and Chloe was soon surrounded on all sides by the dancing mass that seemed to her to be the entire city of Los Angeles crammed into the club. Over the pounding in her ears, she vaguely heard Beca's voice float through the air from the speakers.
But she wasn't focusing on that. No, all she wanted was to find Aubrey, get some cash, and get out of here. Fortunately the Bellas as a whole were a rather… conspicuous group. At the moment that Chloe really needed them to come through for them, Fat Amy was standing on a table and demonstrating her Barden-famous Mermaid Dancing routine, Stacie was two steps away from filming her own porno in the middle of the club, and Aubrey was trying to keep the whole hot mess from getting them kicked out.
Aubrey!
Chloe's eyes honed in on the tall and poised blonde and she pushed her way through the throngs of people. Aubrey spotted her right away, her red hair was a smidge of a giveaway, Aubrey also spotted the distressed look on Chloe's face.
As soon as she within ear shot, she asked, "Chloe, what's wrong?" The blonde reached up and brushed away something wet from Chloe's cheek. Oh, she wasn't even aware that she was crying.
"Beca - she's - Aubs, I… I have to go." Aubrey's eyes flew open wide and her face instantly furrowed in worry.
"What? Chloe why? What did the hobbit do this time?" Aubrey immediately knew something was really wrong when Chloe didn't protest to the name 'hobbit'. Usually that got at least a smile.
Instead Chloe sniffed noisily and said firmly, "Aubrey, please I have to go NOW!" "Okay, okay," Aubrey said as she rummaged through her purse and withdrew enough money to cover a cab for her best friend.
Aubrey took the time in between to stare intently on Chloe. She hadn't seen her friend like this in years… about 5 years ago and about a recurring nuisance in Aubrey's life. Beca Mitchell had torn her best friend down once and it had taken years for Chloe to get back to her personality and mentality of pre-Beca. They'd been in contact with the damn alt-girl for half a week and here she was, ripping Chloe apart all over again. "Chloe," Aubrey's voice cracked on her best friend's name. "What did she do?"
Chloe shook her head, her red waves whipping around wildly as she said, "Aubrey, I can't. She just… she just lied to me. Again. She just keeps lying to me."
"About what?" Aubrey was seriously confused. Because as much as she didn't always see eye to eye with Beca Mitchell, a liar is not usually the first insult that sits waiting on her lips. Chloe didn't bother responding, she just turned on her heel and all but bolted out of the club, her hair streaming behind her.
Not even three minutes later, Kat came rushing over and she roughly grabbed Aubrey by the upper arm. Aubrey shot the superstar a glare. She did not appreciate being manhandled, whether her assailant was familiar or unfamiliar to her. "Where's Chloe?" Kat asked hurriedly, her grip not loosening any.
Aubrey felt her eyebrows fly up. "What do you need Chloe for?" she asked suspiciously. The timing was just a little too fishy.
Kat shook her head and asked again, "Aubrey, where is Chloe?"
"Why?" Aubrey asked petulantly.
Kat all but ground her teeth and nearly spat the words, "I can't tell you. Legally, I cannot tell you. Now where the fuck is Chloe?"
Aubrey narrowed her eyes at Kat momentarily before informing her, "She's gone. She left." Kat groaned and finally released Aubrey's arm to rub her hands over her face in frustration. "Where's she going then?"
"I don't know," Aubrey said with a shrug and technically that wasn't a lie.
"Fuck," Kat breathed and then she was gone, twisting and winding in the crowd.
Aubrey blinked in confusion a few times before she asked to no one in particular, "What did the fuckin hobbit do this time?"
Taaaaa daaaaa.