A/N: Slightly shorter chapter, I hope you like it.

Please keep the reviews coming :)

I do not own Pitch Perfect or any of its characters

Beca had her eyes closed as she rested her head on her arms which were folded on the handles of the exercise bike.

She was breathing heavily and her legs had turned to jelly the second she stopped pedalling.

She had been here for hours and everything hurt.

But it wasn't enough. She could still hear Chloe screaming in her head.

She sat up and composed herself, drinking half a bottle of water, before tapping on the screen of the exercise bike so she could go for another round.

The machine beeped and a red light flashed. It refused to start.

"Come on you piece of shit," she said, hitting the start button again. It beeped and flashed.

"They won't let you work out for more than a few hours at a time," a voice said at the door of the gym. "You don't make a good soldier if your muscles get wrecked."

Beca looked up to see Aubrey standing there, ready for her morning work-out.

"I just want to go for another hour," Beca said, trying again to start the machine.

"Beca, what are you doing?" Aubrey asked, a sad look on her face.

"Doing the only thing I can think of. Distracting myself. What else am I supposed to do?" Beca asked, grabbing a towel from one of the shelves and wiping the back of her neck. "I can't stay in the dorm... I can't just sit around. I'm tired of stressing about this. I'm tired full-stop."

"You could try and talk to her," Aubrey said.

"She doesn't want to speak to me," Beca said. "She can't even look at me."

"The Bellas are your family too, Becs," Aubrey said. "You shouldn't have to stay away from your home and put yourself through this."

"I don't have a choice," Beca said, starting to feel annoyed. "If it was Stacie, what would you do?"

Aubrey sighed. "I'd probably be doing the same. I just... I don't like seeing you in pain."

"I know," Beca said. "But compared to what she's been through, I can handle this."

"I'm sure this won't be forever," Aubrey said. "Now go and get some sleep. That's an order Mitchell."

Beca smiled. "Sure thing boss," she said.

She made it back to the dorm to find the rest of the Bellas in various stages of getting up. Her eyes met Chloe's, and the redhead took a step back from her.

Beca held up her hands.

"I'm just going to bed," Beca said, her voice aching with sadness.

Chloe looked like she wanted say something, but Beca didn't give her the chance. She had already entered her room and closed the door. There was that look in Chloe's eyes again that was just like getting stabbed in the heart. Getting shot by the Malician had hurt less.

She lay on her bed and prayed she'd fall asleep soon.

Chloe watched Beca go sadly. She felt racked with guilt.

"I'm not doing this deliberately," Chloe said, feeling the eyes of the other Bellas piercing her. "I'm not trying to hurt her."

"We know, Red," Cynthia said.

"If I could just un-do what they did to me, I would. I don't want to be scared of her," she said, still feeling judged.

"You don't have to justify yourself," Stacie said. "Not to me. Not to any of us. Not even to Beca. She understands."

"When you do your training, they deliberately pit you against your biggest fear," Fat Amy said. "You deal with the thing that scares you the most, so when you face it in real life it isn't so scary. Maybe it's time you faced your fears."

"I... I can't," Chloe said, her voice shaking.

"Then let her go," Amy said. "She loves you."

Chloe nodded, wiping her eyes on the back of her hand.

"Let her sleep for now," Stacie said. "You can talk to her later."

"Yeah," Chloe said, running a hand through her hair. She took a seat in the lounge area, stealing herself for what she had to do. "How is she?" She asked Stacie who sat beside her.

"Not great," Stacie said. "She's hurting. I know it's not your fault, and no one's blaming you, but she's finding it hard to keep it together."

"I really miss her," Chloe said. "But as soon as I see her, I'm just filled with this paralysing fear."

"You need to make a decision here Chloe," Stacie said. "I don't know you very well, but you survived what they did to you on that ship, which makes you pretty brave in my books. If you can survive that, you can handle my sister. But at the end of the day, you know what you can deal with. The Bellas will support you either way."

It was late afternoon when Beca woke up. Her limbs were aching and she felt groggy and tired. She wanted to sleep again but she needed a hot shower first. She showered and returned to her room without encountering anyone.

Chloe had heard her return to her room, and gave the brunette enough time to put clothes on, before she hesitantly knocked on her door.

"Come in," Beca said, towelling her hair dry. She froze when Chloe came in, closing the door behind her. Out of habit, she raised her hands, almost in surrender.

Chloe moved close to her, staring into her eyes.

They were tired and rimmed with red. But they were Beca's eyes.

"Chloe, what are you doing?" Beca asked, her voice a whisper.

"Facing my fears," Chloe replied, closing the gap and capturing Beca's lips in a kiss.

They broke apart slowly, their breathing laboured.

They were only apart for a few seconds before Chloe surged forward again, her hands becoming tangled in Beca's hair. She was kissing her with an urgency that Beca hadn't felt before, but she returned it, trying not to ruin it by crying.

"Is this real?" Beca asked, between kisses.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Chloe replied, finally feeling the fear leave her.