Beca looked across at Chloe, who, whilst she was looking down, had a shy smile creeping across her face. Her lips were pursed as if she were trying to hide something.

"I, er... actually.. I wanted to... Ask.. I mean..." Chloe looked up from her feet, and suddenly squealed. Beca jumped and swung around wildly, her arms flinging up to cover her head. "Snow!"

"What?!"

"Look-" Chloe reached across and pulled something from Beca's hair "-it's snowing!"

"Good grief - what is wrong with you?" Beca said, flushing furiously and swatting Chloe's hand away.

Chloe simply grinned. "Sorry. God, look how much is coming down!" she beamed, and held her hands out to the sky as the snow was well and truly beginning to fall thick and fast.

Beca stepped backwards from Chloe, and couldn't help but smile. Chloe had her arms out at her side, her head poised towards the sky and her eyes closed. "You're such a weirdo..." Beca said, shaking her head, but Chloe ignored her and carried on. The snow was falling heavier by the second though, and Beca begun to shiver worse than before. She tucked her hands up into the crux of her armpit and flinched against the bite of the cold.

"I'm not weird." Chloe said suddenly, and stopped to face Beca, who laughed.

"S-s-sure?" Beca shivered. She tried to laugh but her face was being frozen solid from the snow pelting at her from all directions. It danced along the pavement in thick, wind driven flurries, settling quickly in the cracks and crevices of walls and the joins between the pavement and the road - and had she not been so bloody cold she would have admired its elegance.

"Come on," Chloe leant out and grabbed Beca's hand, pulling her from her slight shelter at the back of the sidewalk. "Lets go back to mine before you freeze to death!" She pulled her free arm up across her face to shield it against the cold. She started running, and Beca resisted little, even when she felt Chloe thread her fingers between her own.

They ran as quickly as they could through the storm, Beca's stomach doing somersaults every time she felt Chloe's hand pull her own. She swore that through the whip and the howl of the wind she could hear Chloe giggling to herself as she pulled her along. By the time they reached the glass doors to let them into the block of dormitories Beca's ears and face hurt due to the cold. It had bled right into her bones, and she ached.

Chloe fumbled to find the key fob in her coat with one hand for a second, before Beca realised and dropped the other one, biting her lip and looking everywhere but at Chloe. Chloe blushed, but smiled coyly nonetheless. "Come on," she said as they bundled through the door. Snow followed them inside, thanks to the clumps that were on their shoulders, hair and stuck to their shoes, and the short blast of wind that the open door allowed in. "I'm up on second floor. Aubrey's gonna be out, so we should be okay."

Beca shook her head gently to shake the flakes from her hair. "Yeah, she really doesn't like me, I get it."

"Oh no, don't take it personally." Chloe said, leading the way up the stairs. "It's just... she's... competitive. And pretty protective too."

"Wow, third grade jealousy." Beca said, cocking her head to one side. "I'd forgotten all about that. I'll be sure to make sure she doesn't see us hanging out." Beca said, and Chloe heard an unexpected sting in her voice.

"She's fine." Chloe said, "Now come on, enough of Aubrey. I see her every single day, your company will make a nice change." she smiled over her shoulder at Beca, who was a few steps behind. She stopped at the top of the staircase to wait, chewing on the tip of one finger, with that shy smile she always found herself doing when facing Beca creeping onto her face again.

"What?" Beca said, "Why are you watching me like that?"

"You're absolutely... well-" Chloe looked at her. The snow that hadn't shaken from her clothes had now melted due to the heat of the dorm block, and was starting to seep through her clothes. Her dark eye make up was running, in quite a messy fashion too, down into panda eyes, and her hair had been whipped into a soggy mess by the wind. "You're absolutely wet through." Chloe blushed saying this, and felt the deep of her stomach tingle. "I mean, from the snow." she added nervously. She felt the urge to reach out and pull Beca close, hold her shivering frame in her arms, but this time she resisted.

"Yeah, um, about that..." Beca glanced down at her damp clothes. The tiny hairs on her arms stood up with goosebumps, and she rubbed her arms to try to ease the burn of the warmth against her skin, which still felt whipped from the cold outside.

"I'll grab you a towel, come on, my room is this way." Chloe said, holding the door open. "You can shower, get warm and I'll find us something for dinner. I don't know about you, but I'm starving." She followed close behind Beca, pointing to the third door along the corridor, and trying desperately not to think of Beca in the shower...

"Ooh, how polite, ever the gentleman you are," Beca smirked, as Chloe held her dorm room door open.

"Shut up and get inside." Chloe laughed. She pulled a fluffy towel down from atop her wardrobe and handed it to Beca, who stood awkwardly in the doorway, tucking a loose strand of damp hair behind her ear nervously.

"Thanks," she said, taking it from her, and holding it close to her chest.

"That way, third door on the right." Chloe pointed over Beca's shoulder and out into the corridor as she went to leave the room. "Oh, and take these." Beca turned back to Chloe, who watched her expectantly with a pile of neatly folded clothes held out in her extended arms. "Sweatpants." she beamed.

Beca took the clothes from her and disappeared out of the room. Chloe couldn't help but smile. Alright, so she hadn't admitted quite yet to Beca how things were between them, but she had her here, in her room, and things seemed good between them. Well, Beca hadn't run anywhere yet at the very least. She tried to surpress her smile again, but couldn't help it, and found herself clenching her fists tight with excitement, then flinging her arms up in the air. She felt ridiculous, delirious - but that was all alright.

Things really were alright.