They lay together for a little while, having coiled their arms and legs around each others. Chloe closed her eyes, resting her chin on the top of Beca's head. She could smell the residual hum of blueberry shampoo in her hair and found it soothing.

"Chlo'?" Beca murmured softly after a moment.

"Mm?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Mm?"

"You, uh, you do realise we're lying on the floor, right?"

"Mm."

"Good. Just, you know, so long as you know."

Chloe kept her eyes closed, smiling into Beca's hair.

"Come on then," she said after a moment. "Let's get out of here."

Beca cocked her head upwards, allowing Chloe to lean forward and kiss her gently on the lips. She pushed herself up on her elbows with Beca still cradled between her legs. With a smile Chloe squeezed her thighs together, pinning Beca in position.

"Chlo' you're gonna have to let me go if you want to leave," Beca said, squirming with a giggle as Chloe's hands roamed around her waist, her fingers touching her sides with a spidery graze. "Stop! We're, um, a bit… naked. We should fix that, before we walk out…"

"I like you this way," Chloe teased, rolling a strand of Beca's hair through her fingers. Beca just rolled her eyes and made to move, suddenly very aware she was still very nude.

"Chloe, you're sat on my clothes," she hissed after a moment of scrambling, pressing a hand to her breast to try and cover up.

"Well then, you'll just have to stay as you are," Chloe said with a wink, laughing as Beca tried an odd combination of wrapping her arms across her body to save some dignity and at the same time push Chloe from the pile of clothes behind her. It resulted in a frustrated wobble, half bent over in front of her. Chloe pursed her lips, swallowing her laughter as Beca's face showed her frustration. She reached behind herself and pulled out the clothes, holding them out and cocking her head to one side with a smile.

Beca scrambled to pull her underwear back on, and Chloe smiled, watching the blush rise from Beca's neck to her cheeks. Beca spun around, kicking Chloe's clothes back towards her with her toe, but as she did so her cell dropped from the bundle of clothes in her arms. It bounced next to Chloe.

"Leave it," Beca said as Chloe reached to hand it back to her. Beca pulled her sweatshirt on over her head. "I'll pick it up in a minute."

Chloe began to get dressed, regretting none of the sneaky glances she shot at Beca wriggling back into her tight jeans. The buzz of Beca's phone ringing caught her eye.

"Bex, someone's ringing you," she said, bending in only her bra and panties.

"Who is it?" Beca asked, not looking up as she bent to tie the laces on her boots.

"Jesse." Chloe said with a frown as she flipped the phone in her hands and read the name on the illuminated screen.

Beca sighed, exasperated. "Seriously? Ignore it." She reached back for the other boot just as there was a knock on the door. The girls stared at each other for a second, both wide eyed, before another knock jolted them into action.

"Shit!" Chloe gasped, fumbling around for the rest of her clothes.

"Girls?" the shopkeeper's voice called out, muffled from the other side of the door. "Is everything alright?"

"Stand there!" Beca hissed, grabbing Chloe by the shoulders and pushing her behind where the door would open.

"Hey," Beca smiled, as sweetly as she could upon opening the door. Chloe pressed her back as far into the wall as she could so as to not be noticed. She also pressed her hand to her mouth, stifling giggles. "We'll be right out, sorry it's taken so long." Beca said.

"Did you manage to pick one?" Chloe heard the old lady say. She saw Beca nod, then glanced down, noticing her trying to flick the teal dress out of the old lady's sight, as it now lay in a heap in the middle of the floor where Beca had stepped from it in her lust fuelled haste. Despite Beca's best efforts the dress had now snagged on one of her boots, and Chloe had to bite her lip to stop her laughing as she watched Beca try and retain her composure as the old lady talked about washing and steaming and pressing the fabrics, whilst Beca's leg shook as furiously as she could surreptitiously manage behind the door.

Chloe knelt down and freed the dress from Beca's boot, her hand still pressed to her mouth. She straightened up, folding it over her arm as the old lady patted Beca on the shoulder and promised her a twenty-percent discount for being "just so lovely". Beca shut the door and sighed.

"I swear, I thought she wasn't going to leave!" Chloe said, laughing at the exasperation on Beca's face.

"I thought she wanted to see me try the bloody thing on!" Beca growled, taking the dress from Chloe's outstretched arm. She averted her gaze, having noticed that Chloe was still in her underwear.

"Everything alright?" Chloe teased, her face as deadpan as she could manage. She pitted her hands upon her hips, smirking as Beca tried not to smile and looked away.

"Fine." Beca nodded. "I'll er, I'll go pay, I think." She said awkwardly, indicating towards the door.

"Okay." Chloe nodded encouragingly, still not taking her hands from her hips. She paused for a second, biting the smile back from her lips.

"Get dressed!" Beca said, rolling her eyes but still smiling at Chloe. "I'll wait out here whilst you pick a dress and get yourself sorted."

"Oh – I'm not buying one – I just like trying them on. Mine's already at home."

Beca's face dropped as she stood in the doorway to the changing room. "You're kidding?"

"Nope," Chloe said, her laugh tinkling. "It's pink."She added, then shut the changing room door in Beca's face with a grin.

"You are unbelievable." Beca muttered.

"I heard that!" Chloe called back through the door. "Should I tell Jesse that too if he calls again?"

Beca smirked, enjoying the way the thought of Chloe still made her smile and caught her off guard.

She wandered through the shop and gently put the dress on the counter, her mind wandering to what had just happened. She had never – but that was – she bowed her head, her hair falling across her cheeks to hide the flush that crept across them, just as the shopkeeper caught her eye.

"Everything alright dear?" the old lady asked with a smile as she carefully folded the dress inside a thin layer of tissue.

"Surprisingly – yes." Beca said, looking up to see the old lady watching her greedily through milky eyes. She smiled, and the lady smiled toothlessly back.

"Good." She said. "It's nice when things are all right. Even more so when they catch you by surprise."

She slid the dress into a square paper bag as Beca pushed the card into the machine.

"I knocked your twenty off." The old lady said with a wink. "I've never known a customer take so long in the changing rooms. I guessed you must have found something special."

Beca laughed.

"You could say that." Her insides were warm at the thought of the changing room escapades.

"Look after it," the lady said, handing over the bag as Beca tucked her purse away.

"Thanks – I will," Beca smiled at the old lady's wise words. "I'll just go get my friend." She thumbed towards the changing rooms.

"Don't mind me," the shopkeeper waved nonchalantly and hoisted her stout frame back onto her stool behind the old fashioned cash register.

"Chloe?" Beca called as she neared the changing rooms. "You ready?"

There was no reply, so she pushed on Chloe's changing room door. It swung open, and Beca saw her boots still under the chair and her coat and un-worn dresses still hanging from the hooks.

"Chloe?" she called again, turning towards her own changing room. She tapped on the door and the impact pushed it open.

Chloe was stood in the middle of the cubicle, fully dressed bar her shoes, but clutching something in the palms of her hands. She was staring at it and – crying, Beca noticed with a horrible jolt to her stomach.

"Chloe?" Beca asked softy. "What's going on?"

She looked up, jolting as if shocked by Beca's voice, and furiously rubbed away fresh tears from her cheeks.

"You tell me." She said after a moment, her voice thick and pained with emotion. Beca's stomach dropped.

"I don't-" she tried, but Chloe tossed what she held in her hands into the air, Beca instinctively stepped forward, catching it. It was her cell. She glanced down at the screen, a message glowing – a message she had never seen before. From Jesse.

"I'm sorry about last night," Beca heard Chloe recite as her eyes scanned the phone. "If I'd have known you were going to call it off I would have kissed you twice as hard."

Chloe's voice broke as she finished, and Beca looked up to see fresh tears making hot, angry tracks down her cheeks.

"It rang – again – so I picked it up and that was on the screen." Chloe said quietly.

"Chloe – I swear-" Beca tried, but Chloe shook her head.

"This is why you wouldn't commit then, isn't it? At least I know now."

"No!"

"You had to break it off with Jesse first. I understand."

"This is not what you think!" Beca shouted, but Chloe just scoffed.

"Right. Okay." She said, and squeezed past Beca, careful to avoid her touch. She left the changing room, turning towards her own.

"You really think I would date Jesse behind your back?" Beca said, following her to the other cubicle. She tried to reach out and grab Chloe by the arm, but she pulled away sharply.

"Get off me."

"Are we really doing this?" Beca yelled angrily. "You really think I would do this to you?"

"Beca – I don't know what I think anymore!" Chloe yelled back, her head down. She pulled her boots on with such force the zipper nearly snapped clean off.

"I promise you – I promise you – nothing happened between me and Jesse." Beca said, kneeling in front of Chloe. She paused, leaning down to fasten her other boot.

Their faces were merely inches apart. Beca reached up to wipe a tear from Chloe's face, her thumb brushing softly over her cheek. "Nothing is happening," she said softly, "and nothing ever has. Chloe, I didn't want to commit to you because I was scared I would get hurt. It was a stupid thing to think, and I'm sorry." She cupped Chloe's other cheek in the palm of her hand. "I don't want anyone else." She added quietly.

Every inch of her body – every ounce of gut instinct that ran through her veins – it all told her to run, leave, as she normally would when confronted with her fears. But she had promised Chloe she wouldn't as she had laid with her – that moment when everything had been right with the world, and she wasn't going back on her word now. Not this time.

She looked into Chloe's eyes and sorrow filled her heart. She longed to make this right, fix it all, stop the tears – kick Jesse hard in the nether regions – but all she found herself able to do, all she could muster as her body was enveloped by sadness at seeing Chloe's pain, was a quiet apology.

"I'm so sorry." Her voice was barely even audible.

Chloe blinked and took her lip in her mouth biting back on the prickle of tears that threatened to come. Then she looked down, away from Beca, and shrugged her hands from her face.

"You're lying." She whispered. "Even now."

And with that she stood up, brushing Beca to the floor.

"Chloe, I'm not-"

"When Jesse came round to ask about your music, what happened?" Chloe said, shrugging her coat on. Her voice was completely devoid of emotion and it made Beca feel sick. The whole sordid situation made Beca feel sick. She looked at the floor, unable to bring herself to look at Chloe, whose eyes were red and sore, heer mascara beginning to be tugged into a dark smudge, bleeding into dark tracks down her cheeks.

"He, uh," Beca rubbed her eyes between her thumb and forefinger. She knew she wasn't in the wrong but didn't think she could bear the onslaught when she finally admitted they had kissed – despite it not even being her fault. "He turned up and told me – I mean – he – he brought soup."

She sighed, feeling ridiculous.

"He just turned up, I told him to go, he promised he would if I just – if I told him how to mix, and then he… he just tried – he didn't, I mean, we didn't – he tried to kiss me," she sighed again. "And then I threw him out."

She looked up at Chloe, who's face had blanched.

"And when was this?" she stammered.

"Last night." Beca said quietly, inhaling deeply. "But I swear – I swear Chloe-"

But it was too late.

Chloe pushed past her, a sob whimpering from her lips as her fingers momentarily brushed against Beca's. She ran from the shop as quickly as she could manage without arousing suspicion in the glassy eyed old woman who hunched over a book at the cash register. Beca could do naught but watch, her legs felt dumb and she couldn't get them to move properly.

She swallowed hard, her tongue thick and constricting in her mouth, and tears prickling hard at her eyes.

She felt heavy, her chest heaving as she fought the sobs growing deep in her stomach, rising like bile to her throat. It was like every other time, she thought. Here she was, having finally opened up to someone, allowed them into her stupid little life – and this time she had left somebody hurting as much as she did.

She was going to kill Jesse.